Engine Damage
by Stellar Sundown
Summary: AU SKxYY, AxY. When Mokuba suggests that Seto find companionship, he merely brushes it off. However, when he meets an exotic stranger while out on the town, Seto finds his interest has been piqued.
1. Returning Customer

Author's Note:

I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a male/male pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I do not own the series. I also don't own Louis Vuitton or whatever other fashion names may pop up. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

**000000000000**

An Aston Martin Vanquish ripped down the highway at over a hundred miles per hour, ignoring all speed limits and slower passing cars. Music blared from the state of the art stereo system, not modern rock as might be expected from a teenager's car, but instead an intriguing instrumental piece.

_Warning. Engine damage probable. Slow down to prevent failure._

Seto Kaiba slammed down on the brakes, causing the tires to make that horrible screeching noise as the car skid to a halt on the road, burning ebony tracks onto the surface as a reminder. As a reminder that he was here, and that he made a difference. Speed seemed to be the only way he could achieve that feeling lately. Even Kaiba Corp no longer seemed to fulfill his desire to make a name for himself.

The night sky was dark and oppressive, pressing against the teenager's senses as he got out of the expensive vehicle and leaned against the frame, door still open. A breeze blew through, daring to ruffle his impeccably groomed chocolate locks.

"_You're only human, Seto. Don't push yourself too hard to be something you're not."_

Why? Why did that suddenly come back to him? When the death-defying speed had finally quenched his insatiable need for the night… those words had to come crashing down on his head. In an uncharacteristic move, he slumped back down into the driver's seat, barely missing the top of the car with his head.

It had been Mokuba who'd said that, several times even, before he left to go to school in America. Now Seto was alone, and although Mokuba made sure to call, it wasn't the same. A voice over telephone wires was never as good as the real thing.

Lost in his thoughts and the music still blaring from the stilled vehicle, Seto didn't hear his cell phone ring. When a lull in the music came, he nearly jumped from the familiar tune of the phone. Shutting off the stereo, he flipped open the phone with practiced ease.

"Seto Kaiba speaking."

"Nii-sama. I'm perfectly aware that it's you, who else would have use of this phone?"

"Mokuba…."

Seto sat in silence, letting his brother go on about his adventures at school. Spacing out in the night air, he didn't realize that Mokuba had stopped talking, evidently waiting for an answer to some question he'd asked.

"Nii-sama…?"

"Hmm?"

"I asked how you were doing. You're not overworking yourself again, are you?"

"Oh. Don't worry about me, Mokuba."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Hn."

"…Nii-sama?"

"What?"

"Our house… it's… well, it's too big for you to stay there by yourself all the time. You need company, nii-sama. You need someone to hang out with."

"Listen, Mokuba, if you're preaching to me about friendship, you can just forget it."

"I'm not… nii-sama, I'm not preaching friendship. I'm merely looking out for your best interests. Well, I have to go. Please think about it, nii-sama. I'll miss you, like always."

"Hn."

Seto snapped the cell phone closed and replaced it in the pocket of his black dress pants, swinging his legs back into the Aston Martin. The door shut with a loud click as he revved the engine and sped off into the night once more, but this time in silence, mulling over his brother's words.

**00000000000**

Atem Mutou was an exotic man. Although he was of short stature, he had beautifully bronzed skin and enticing crimson eyes. Not only that, but his hair was the most interesting many people had ever seen- red and black with blonde bangs and spikes among the rest. Many women sought for his love, but he turned them all down, disinterest flitting through his eyes. It would take a special woman to win his heart, they said, but Atem would always smile and shake his head. '_I'm not interested in love_,' he'd say, but it wasn't completely true. Atem wasn't interested in women, that much was true. But men? That was a different story.

It was a slow day at work. Atem sighed, resting his head on his arms as he sat behind the counter of the Louis Vuitton boutique. Sure, it was a little odd for such a famous fashion designer to have a shop in Domino, Japan, but it provided him a job and he was going to appreciate that fact. He vaguely realized that slacking off like this might get him fired, but he didn't care. Besides, the women who came to the shop loved him, and it brought business to the company. Perhaps they wouldn't fire him after all.

Atem nearly jumped, however, when the ringing of the shop bell broke his afternoon silence. Not only that, but the person who walked in was definitely the most gorgeous man Atem had ever seen. He was a tall brunette with the most compelling blue eyes. They seemed icy and cold, but Atem thought he saw a bit of spark behind them, fueling this man with passion for whatever he might hold dear. He was startled again when the man spoke in a rich voice, albeit laced with frost.

"I require three new business suits," the man ordered, "I would prefer one to be white, the others black."

"Yes, sir," Atem replied, slipping gracefully off of the stool behind the counter, "Are you a returning customer or shall I take your measurements?"

"You do not recognize me?" the man asked, somewhat incredulous that someone in this world would dare to not know him.

"Then I take it you are indeed a returning customer. I'm very sorry, sir, I've only just started here. Please forgive my ignorance."

Seto had to admit, for a shop employee, this man was intriguing. He was polite and had a strong charm about him. The brunette was surprised that the other wasn't doing some sort of modeling work, but retracted this thought when he let the man's height and hairstyle sink in. He simply wouldn't fit the image of many designers out there, Seto concluded.

"Don't forget next time," he said instead, "Seto Kaiba."

"Once again, my apologies, Kaiba-san," Atem said with a slight bow, typing into the employee computer for Kaiba's measurements and noting them on a small pad, "Although it is suggested that we re-measure today for future reference and so that you do not buy something that won't fit properly."

"Hn," came Kaiba's reply.

**0000000000000**

A few days later, Seto was sitting in a high-class restaurant enjoying dinner when he noticed a vaguely familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. As the figure drew closer, he realized it was the worker from Louis Vuitton accompanied by a smartly dressed woman. The blue-eyed man found himself confused as he felt a sudden pang of jealousy within himself. What was this feeling? That man wasn't his friend- just a worker he'd met briefly. Hell, he didn't even know the man's name. So why was he feeling _jealous_? Certainly, the man was beautiful. He'd admitted it to himself as the other looked up his measurements on the computer. Surely, however, that did not constitute fondness. He picked at his dinner while carefully watching the couple as they were seated and perused the dinner menus. The woman seemed undaunted by the prices, obviously used to this establishment, but the man's face flitted with uncertainty. Obviously it was she that had taken him out, not the other way around. It made sense, after all- how could a store employee afford such a dining experience on his or her own?

As the evening progressed, he sat in silence and continued to observe their table. The man had visibly relaxed, presumably after several drinks. He was curious about the exotic man, and when Seto Kaiba was curious about something, he used every means necessary to find out about that something. He briefly contemplated asking the other to dance, but was unaware if the man would be disturbed by those actions. He settled instead for the woman. He'd merely ask her about the man. After finishing his dinner, he stood and made his way over to the table, best smile on. Of course, it was never a real smile, just a mask used in business and such. Real smiles were only for Mokuba.

"Pardon my intrusion, but my lady, you look absolutely stunning this evening. May I interest you in a dance?"

A faint blush arose on the woman's cheeks, and she turned to her partner. "Atemu-kun, you don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all, Kanagawa-san. By all means, enjoy yourself," he replied, nodding to both her and Seto.

As his eyes grazed over the tall teen, however, Seto could see recognition spark in his blood red eyes. However, he didn't act on it, and let Seto lead the woman to the dance floor.

"So, Kanagawa-san, is it? You have an interesting date tonight," Seto remarked.

"Oh, no, not my date. Atemu-kun- well, I suppose I should call him Mutou-kun- is an employee of mine. He's been doing very well, so I decided to treat him to dinner."

"That's very kind of you. You are lucky to find such an intriguing man as Mutou-san in Domino."

"Ah, Mutou-kun is still very young! It is odd to hear him referenced as a man, though I suppose nineteen is around there, isn't it? But yes, indeed. He told me his mother was an Egyptian."

"Really? That's fascinating, Kanagawa-san."

"By all means, call me Yukino if you wish, Kaiba-san."

Kaiba's eyebrows raised in slight surprise, though if he remembered what he himself had said to Atem in the shop the other day, he shouldn't be. Almost the entire population of Domino knew who he was. Possibly even the world, now that he thought about it. Why should this woman be any exception?

**0000000000**

Okay. So this chapter was kind of short- only about three pages or so. Whatever.

And sorry about the random line in the middle. I couldn't get rid of it.

It's not very far, either, so there wasn't much interaction. And to those of you going 'Kaiba is much more frosty than that!' well, remember, this is AU. Sorry to disappoint.

If you like it so far, please review. I don't know if I should keep going if I don't get feedback.


	2. Do You Believe in Destiny?

Author's Note:

I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a male/male pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic. This chapter also features AnzuxYugi.

Important: Seto did attend Domino High, as did the rest of the gang- minus Yugi and Atem. This is why Seto didn't recognize Atem, or even mistake him for Yugi. They attended another school.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I do not own the series. I also don't own Louis Vuitton or whatever other fashion names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

**000000000**

Seto found himself sprawled in an undignified manner across navy blue silk sheets, tie loosened and several buttons on his expensive silk shirt undone. The night had been productive, at least, he mused as azure eyes continued to stare up at the ceiling. Kanagawa-san had told him anything he'd wanted to know about this Atem Mutou- well, anything she'd known, that is. Still, he'd learned a great deal: his name, his age, a little bit about his family, what area he lived in, and what he liked to do with his friends. And, he admitted grudgingly, the woman had some good points as well. Although she would never be as intriguing as Atem. The white expanse above him suddenly seemed to twist and change, and Seto knew he was close to dreamland.

**000000000**

_The ground was covered in fog. Seto couldn't see more than a few feet around him at any time, though he could hear the rush of a river and smell the intoxicating scent of the lotus blossoms he found scattered at his feet. The fog seemed to get lighter and lighter as he felt the temperature begin to rise. _It must be early morning_, he thought, _but where am I?

_As if on cue, a figure materialized before the brunette in the swirling mists. The silhouette was familiar, almost comforting. Seto moved closer, trying to see the other, but the figure shook its head and held up a hand to stop him. The figure stepped forward of his own volition, glittering in golden adornments and with a large pyramid-shaped puzzle around his neck. _

"_Tell me, Seto… do you believe in destiny?"_

_The mists blew away in a strong wind, revealing the other for a brief moment- was that _Atem _in that jewelry?- before he vanished with the booming of something. Emergency system? No, just the alarm clock._

Seto's eyes flicked open, all traces of the dream removing themselves from his mind.

**000000000**

Summer was ending, and the world seemed to be expressing its sorrow at the death of the season; the skies were a dismal gray and rain poured down from above, pattering against the glass windowpanes of the Kaiba Corp building. The mature teen stood behind his desk, looking down on all of Domino from the vantage point of the gods. The cold glow of the lights reflected against the window and the dark sky outside, playing strange shadows across his face as the rain outside continued to dance and refract the light from within just so. Seto ran a hand through his brown hair, closing his eyes with a sigh. Although he couldn't remember it, he had the strong feeling that his dream last night was important in some way.

The phone on the desk began to ring, and Seto reluctantly turned away from the window to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Mister Kaiba, I have a Kanagawa-san from Louis Vuitton on the line," the female receptionist stated, "Shall I patch her through?"

"Line nine," Kaiba responded before hearing a click and pressing the line nine button.

"Kaiba-san, how are you on this less than perfect day?"

"As well as could be expected. May I ask the purpose of this call?"

"Oh, of course, Kaiba-san. We have finished your suits and are inquiring as to the delivery."

"Don't bother, I'll come pick them up myself. Have a nice day, Kanagawa-san."

"You too, Kaiba-san."

He set the receiver down with a faint click and turned back to the window, but the charm from a few moments before seemed to have dissipated completely before the prospect of seeing Mutou-san again. Seto only hoped he happened to be working today.

**000000000**

The minutes went by slowly, and all Atem had to do was stare out at the rain. Even the boutique's more dedicated customers were absent today; he didn't blame them. The weather was atrocious, and he half wondered why Kanagawa-san hadn't simply closed the shop for today. However, his boredom evaporated when a familiar face stepped through the entrance, making the shop bell jingle.

"Anzu-chan," he said with a smile, slipping off of his stool and coming around the corner.

"Atem! I was almost worried you wouldn't be at work today, or would be on break. This weather is absolutely _horrendous_. Yugi-chan wanted me to give you this," the brunette said, holding out an envelope. "I don't know why he insisted on delivering this letter, a phone call would have done just fine."

"Is it the invitation?" Atem asked, taking the miraculously dry envelope from his younger brother's fiancé.

"Yeah. My mother told me I should have mailed them, but, don't you think a personal visit from us is more exciting?"

"Definitely. It's always a pleasure to see you, Anzu-chan."

The brunette smiled, the emotion further amplified in her bright sapphire eyes. She looked around and shed her rain-soaked jacket, hanging it over the coat-stand the store offered for their customers before taking a seat in one of the plush waiting chairs. Atem took a seat next to her, opening the envelope. Inside was a beautiful wedding invitation, which he suspected Anzu had made herself.

"These invitations are gorgeous," he said, slipping it back into the envelope before tucking it safely away in his uniform pocket.

"Thank you! Yugi and I couldn't decide on any, so we made them ourselves. He'll be delighted to know you like them."

Anzu brushed wet strands from her forehead and frowned when they fell back before her eyes. Wet hair and clothes made her uncomfortable and somewhat irritated. Atem could understand, it made him feel the same way.

"Hold on, I'll get you a towel to wring your hair out with."

"Oh, Atem, you don't have to. I can't stay long anyhow, I have to deliver more invitations," Anzu said, revealing invitations for Jou, Honda, and Shizuka.

"At least dry off a bit before you go. Maybe the rain will let up," Atem insisted, disappearing for a moment before returning with a hand towel and a glass.

Anzu took it, smiling gratefully before proceeding to wring her hair out. They resumed their conversation on the wedding details, such as decorations and Anzu's dress. It had been her grandmother's, and it was a beautiful thing, judging by the picture she showed him. Both were a little startled when the shop bell rang again. Atem jumped up and looked over at the door to see who the customer was.

"Ah, Kaiba-san. I'll just fetch your suits, then," he said, leaving Anzu to dry her hair and a wet Seto to stand in the door.

"Mazaki," Seto remarked at the sight of a high school acquaintance, "What are you doing here?"

"Obviously, I'm visiting a friend," Anzu said, standing up from her seat as Atem returned with the clothing bags that contained Seto's suits. "I have to go now, Atemu-chan. I promised Jou and Shizuka that I'd be there for dinner, and it's almost five-thirty."

"It's fine, Anzu-chan. I'll call later," he said, transferring the bags to Seto and taking the hand towel and glass of water from her.

"We'll be waiting," she said cheerfully as she donned her coat and stepped back out into the rain.

Seto, on the other hand, did not leave. Holding the suit bags over one arm, he watched as Atem placed the hand towel and glass in the staff room in the back of the boutique. Upon his return, Atem calmly slipped back onto his stool.

"Is there something else I can help you with, Kaiba-san?"

"You know Mazaki?"

"Not to be rude, Kaiba-san, but is that your business?" Atem challenged, knowing full well that this could be the last time he sat behind this counter.

"Hn," Seto replied, his azure eyes frosting over at the rebuttal.

"Have a good day, Kaiba-san."

**000000000**

Even the rain would not daunt his need for the exhilaration provided by a mad rush for speed. The last few hours of the day had passed uneventfully, and the rain hammered down just as hard as it had in other hours. Seto exited the Kaiba Mansion in a black silk shirt and black dress pants, accented with the striking white of his Battle City-era jacket, letting the water soak him through. Glacial eyes stared up into the gray, not caring when the tiny droplets saturated his hair and eyelashes. The effect was that he had been crying, but of course, Seto Kaiba did not cry.

The chocolate-haired teenager made his way over to the Aston Martin waiting in the driveway and opened it with a press of the button on his keys. The car obediently came to life, the engine eliciting a low growl. He opened the door and slid inside, not bothering to place anything over the leather interior. A few buttons were pressed and knobs turned, and the stereo awakened from its sleep, playing gentle melodies from the speakers. The door was closed after him, and the taillights flared red as Seto pulled out of the driveway and drove to the highway.

Even in the dead of night, Seto couldn't truly be free until he reached that highway. Abandoned by others at the late hour, the city still had speed limits. Well, truthfully, the highway did as well, but who would dare stop Seto Kaiba now? If they could catch him, that was. Finally reaching his starting point, he gunned the gas pedal and the speedometer switched to a frightening 100 miles per hour in less than ten seconds as he zipped down the slick road. Normally, he'd have been a bit more careful on the wet road, but the day's encounter required an extra stimulus to fully release his tension. The Vanquish ripped through a large puddle, covering the vehicle in muddy water.

_Warning. Engine damage probable. Engine check recommended._

Seto pressed down on the brakes, letting the car come to a slow stop in the middle of the lane. The Vanquish had a max speed of 190 mph, but Seto had been driving it repeatedly at high speeds. He shut off the engine and sat in silence for a moment before exiting the expensive vehicle. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out his thankfully waterproof cell phone and flipped it open, dialing the only contact he had on that number.

**000000000**

Sorry to disappoint, but since this story is AU and there's really no Duel Monsters or Millennium Items, there won't- or should I say, shouldn't (seeing as how I haven't written the entire thing yet, obviously)- be any Ancient Egypt scenes. Maybe this will change, but as of now, Seto's dream in this chapter was just a fleeting whim of mine.

Reviews are **always appreciated** (with the obvious exception of flames), and help me decide whether to keep writing or not!


	3. Only Human

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male **pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I do not own the series. I also don't own Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Thanks reviewers. )

**000000000**

"Nii-sama? Isn't it late over there?"

"Hn."

Mokuba sat cross-legged on his bed, textbooks and papers spread out all around him. A red ballpoint pen hung loosely from his fingers and a notebook lay forgotten in his lap. Shaggy black hair fell forward into storm gray eyes, reflecting the weather half a world away. Ignoring the crunch of papers underneath, he moved from the bed to switch off his radio.

"Nii-sama, it sounds like it's storming! What are you doing outside in that? Aren't you getting soaked?"

"It's just rain," Seto replied, sitting on the hood of the Aston Martin.

"It's a LOT of rain. And you're going to get sick."

"Seto Kaiba does not get sick."

"Riiight," Mokuba answered, sarcasm dripping heavily from the single word. "Nii-sama, why did you call?"

"No reason."

Mokuba paused, staring suspiciously at the phone. His brother did not make calls for no reason. Was something wrong, and he couldn't say anything about it?

"…Nii-sama, are you okay? No one's holding you captive, are they?"

"What? No. What on earth gave you that idea?"

"It's just that, you _never_ call without a reason, that's all."

"Maybe I don't need a reason to call my little brother."

"Well, if you're certain," Mokuba paused, "Wait. Nii-sama, you're lonely, aren't you? I can come back, if you want."

"No. You are going to finish your studies, Mokuba. And I'm not lonely. I don't get lonely."

"Everyone gets lonely, Seto. We're only human, after all. _You're_ only human."

**000000000**

There it was again. _You're only human_. Seto laid back on the hood of the car, staring directly up into the tumultuous clouds. Rain pummeled his face and he was forced to close his eyes to keep the water out.

"Mokuba?"

"Yes?"

"Never mind."

"All right, nii-sama. I have to get my homework done, so I'll call you tomorrow. Okay?"

"That's fine. Goodbye, Mokuba."

"Goodbye, nii-sama."

Mokuba closed his phone and stared down at the back of it. Before he left, he'd gotten Seto to take a photo booth picture with him, and now the miniaturized Seto smiled up at him. Mokuba hugged the phone close for a moment and then set it back on his desk. Unfortunately, he had work to do.

**000000000**

Sunday was Atem's much-appreciated day off. The storm had subsided sometime in the early hours of the morning and left weak sunlight shining through the clouds to illuminate the waterlogged ground. Rays of light gently penetrated the small gap in his bedroom curtains, falling over his face and making his tanned skin appear bronze. Atem sat up, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his crimson eyes. As soon as caramel feet hit the plush carpet of the bedroom, the kitchen phone rang.

"Blasted phone," Atem muttered, pushing himself out of bed and in the direction of the small kitchen. "Mutou residence."

"Nii-chan, didn't you tell Anzu-chan you'd call last night?"

"Oh, I completely forgot! I'm so sorry, Yugi," Atem groaned, mentally smacking himself. "I really meant to, but then…."

"There's no need to apologize, Atem," Yugi assured, his voice the usual cheery tone, "We just wondered. It's fine."

"I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have forgotten."

"It's _fine_, Atem," Yugi said, "But anyways. Everyone's going out to lunch this afternoon. Why don't you come along? Our treat."

"That sounds great. What time?"

"We'll come by around twelve-thirty. Jou said he'd drive Honda and Shizuka, so you can come with us."

"Great. I'll see you then."

"Yeah. Later."

The Egyptian padded around the corner, feet making tiny slapping noises against the black and white checkered tile. Opening a cupboard, he pulled out a box of cereal and poured some into a clean bowl from the sink. While eating his small breakfast, his thoughts strayed to the promise of lunch. It would be nice to see his friends all at once again, and he would make sure to apologize again to Anzu for forgetting to call. Once she'd left the shop, he'd gotten distracted by customers who'd decided to brave the storm after all.

That wasn't the only thing that had distracted him, however. Around ten, he had been making his way home in a slightly beat up Honda Accord when he saw bright lights flash by at alarming speeds on the highway. Curious, he had driven his car down the long road until he saw a car stalled in the middle of the road. Imagine his surprise when he found Seto Kaiba lying on the hood of the car, talking on a cell phone. He didn't stop, however, and went further up the road before turning around and going home. By the time he had gotten back to the point he'd seen Seto's car, Seto was gone.

**000000000**

"You guys'll never guess who I saw today," Jou announced as the group of six sat down at a table in a popular restaurant.

"Who?" Anzu asked, perusing her menu.

"_Kaiba_," Jou announced, a scowl forming on his face.

"Oh, that's nothing. I saw Kaiba-san yesterday," Anzu said, "He was there when I went to give Atem his wedding invitation, isn't that right?"

"Yeah, he came to pick up some suits from the boutique. What's so bad about him, Jou?" Atem asked, confused at his friend's obvious dislike for the man.

"You didn't go to school with us," Jou growled, "He was a walking _nightmare_."

"Don't over exaggerate, Jou," Anzu reprimanded, "Sure, he was a human ice block. And he wasn't very nice. But he was far from being a nightmare."

"Maybe to you," the blonde retorted.

"Where'd you see 'im?" Honda asked, curious.

"Work. He brought in one of his damned expensive cars. An Aston Martin, would you believe it! The engine had problems and the brakes were near to being shot. Throws his cars around like trash, the bastard."

"Jou, don't swear. This is a family restaurant," Yugi commented, scanning the menu before deciding on a meal. "Besides. If this Kaiba-san wants to destroy his cars, isn't that his business? I mean, you shouldn't complain. It's people like him that keep you employed."

"But it's an _Aston Martin_! For cryin' out loud, Yug! Those cars cost about two hundred and thirty thousand US dollars! Zero to a hundred miles per hour in _ten seconds_!"

"Yes, yes, that's all very well and good, but it's _his_ car, Jou."

Yugi's tone was final; there would be no more discussion about someone else's expensive trashed car. It was a good thing, too; the waitress was making her way over to take their order.

"Is your party ready to order?" the waitress asked, a plain but pretty young girl with short black hair and dark brown eyes.

"Yes, we're ready," Anzu declared before Jou could cut in and say that he wasn't.

The waitress waited as the table made their decisions and then disappeared among the tables to place their order with the chef. Although the others were now once again engaged in friendly conversation, Atem found his attention slipping from their words. His gaze wandered over the other patrons in the restaurant and out the window onto the street, where busy passersby carried shopping bags or were on their way to some attraction or another.

"Atem. _Atem_. ATEM!"

"Huh?"

Five pairs of eyes stared expectantly, waiting for the answer to a question he hadn't heard.

"Sorry, what?"

Yugi sighed. "I asked if you had a date. For the wedding. You're my best man, after all."

"Oh. Sorry. Not yet, actually," Atem replied with a tiny shrug.

Anzu's gaze lingered knowingly. Out of the group, Atem suspected she was the only one that knew he wasn't into girls. He had never told her, but Anzu had a way of knowing these things. He felt kind of guilty, keeping it from them- especially Yugi- but he wasn't ready to tell them just yet.

"Well, that's no matter. If you can't find a date, you can always dance with me," Anzu offered, "We're friends. And Yugi won't mind."

"You mean, I won't mind if he doesn't steal you away for the entire time!" he laughed.

"Of course, of course. How could I ever dream of stealing away your bride?" Atem joked in return.

"You can dance with me, too," Shizuka offered, "I'm the Maid of Honor, after all."

"That would be delightful, Shizuka."

"Hey! What about me?"

"Jou, you're my _brother_! Of course I will save a dance for you! But aren't you taking a date anyways?"

"So? I can't let all these men dance with my sister!"

"Oh, hush," Shizuka said, slapping Jou over the head with a menu the waitress had accidentally left with their table.

**000000000**

His car was in the shop. There would be no nighttime escapade tonight; sure, he had plenty of other cars, but none of them was the Aston Martin. Provided, others could probably go faster. Others probably had more control. However, the Aston Martin was his release, and it wouldn't feel right with any other vehicle. So Seto would not go out tonight, or any other night, until the Vanquish was as good as new. _Probably not for a _long _time, what with that mutt working on it_, he thought scathingly as he sank further into a plush armchair by a fire. The brunette closed his eyes and let the warmth of the flames wash over him.

"Engine damage. Hn. Damn engines…."

**000000000**

Okay! This one was a bit longer. And we got to see a bit of Mokuba's point of view! Seto's car is getting fixed, and there's a tiny insight into the plans for Yugi and Anzu's wedding.

**Remembe**r: If you like this story, please **review**! It'll also help if you spread the word.


	4. The Color of His Eyes

**Author's Note**:

I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male **pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Thanks reviewers. You are amazing. Even though I don't reply individually, I want you to know you're appreciated. Now, onto the fourth chapter of _Engine Damage_!

**000000000**

Monday is never a good day. Monday means returning to school or work after the weekend. Monday means waking up early instead of at your leisure, and that was the reason why a certain Atem Mutou was in a bad mood this morning. After lunch the previous day, the gang had decided to go out for a little fun together. The afternoon had turned from a peaceful gathering into a wild karaoke tournament, although none of the group of six were particularly good singers. Anzu and Yugi had sang a cute love song together, while Jou and Honda attacked the microphones with blazing rock ballads. Anzu and Shizuka sang 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' before the four guys sang a few songs of the more masculine variety together. Overall, it was a fun evening, but they had all stayed out late and now Atem was exhausted. He briefly contemplated calling in, but figured that Kanagawa-san wouldn't be very happy with that decision. Pushing himself upright with a sigh, he slipped his feet into a pair of waiting slipper-sandals on the side of his bed and grabbed a t-shirt from his drawer. The exotic teen pulled the shirt down over his head, stopping and looking in the mirror on the back of his door. A sleepy Atem stared back, red eyes drooping from tiredness and crazy hair tossed about from his sleep.

"Great. I look ridiculous," he muttered, pushing the door open and heading for his kitchen, "Breakfast first, appearance later."

As it had the habit of doing recently, the phone rang. Atem grabbed the cordless receiver and pressed the talk button, holding it up with his shoulder as he took a bowl and cereal from the cabinets.

"Mutou residence," he said, being careful not to slam the cabinet door as he closed it.

"Atemu-kun! May I trouble you in making a stop before you come in today?"

"Sure, what is it?" Atem inquired, eyebrows raising at his boss's request.

"Apparently Kaiba-san found some problems with one of the suits. It needs to be returned to the boutique for mending, but I can't go get it myself. Sorry for the trouble."

"It's really not a problem, Kanagawa-san. It's part of my job, isn't it?"

"Thanks a million, Atemu-kun," Kanagawa-san said before Atem heard the faint click that meant she had disconnected the call.

Atem returned to his cereal, leaning against the kitchen counter to eat it when he paused. He had no idea where Kaiba-san's house was.

"Great. Just great," he groaned, inwardly smacking himself for not asking Kanagawa-san where he was supposed to pick the suits up from. "Maybe Anzu will know," he mused, pressing the button that would speed dial Yugi and Anzu's apartment.

**000000000**

"Kaiba-san's mansion? You really don't know where it is?" Anzu asked, somewhat surprised at Atem's question.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, it's just that the major population of the world seems to know where the Kaiba Mansion is. And don't make such an indignant face, like I know you're doing," she laughed. "It's actually not too far from your apartment."

"Thanks, Anzu-chan."

"Anytime, Atem."

After taking down the directions to the Kaiba Mansion, Atem laid the phone back down on the cordless dock and went to the bathroom to freshen up. His hair was still in the same chaotic state it had been in when he woke up, and he was certain he had disgusting morning breath, which would never do. The caramel-skinned teen picked up a hairbrush, running it through his bed head a few times before realizing just brushing wasn't going to do any good. He rolled his crimson eyes and flipped the sink on, ducking his head beneath the flow of water, soaking his hair thoroughly. Even wet, his hair managed to stick up in spikes- although they were somewhat halfhearted and droopy. He pulled out a blow dryer from the cabinet under the sink and switched it on high power, bringing his unusual hair back to its usual shape and composition. Satisfied, he moved back into his bedroom, taking a freshly cleaned white collared shirt and black dress pants from his closet. Atem stifled a yawn and pulled off his pajama pants and slid into his work pants before putting the white shirt over the t-shirt he wore underneath. Lastly came the Louis Vuitton employee vest, a smart little number with the logo embroidered just above where his name tag was pinned. A short inspection in the mirror showed that all looked well, so Atem finished the ensemble off with a black tie and dress shoes, along with a small golden ankh earring.

"That's much better than earlier," Atem commented, turning slowly to view all aspects of his reflection in the mirror. "Well then, off to work."

**000000000**

The Kaiba Mansion was easily the largest non-commercial building Atem had ever seen. An iron fence surrounded the perimeter, with one large gate in the front of the building that had an intercom attached. The expansive lawns were covered with flowers and trees, tended with the utmost care from private gardeners. The house itself was a wonder on its own; it was easily three stories and was beautifully constructed. Now feeling a little intimidated, Atem cautiously made his way up to the front gate and pressed the button on the intercom. A smooth female voice came out of the speakers.

"I'm sorry, but Master Kaiba isn't taking visitors at this time, sir."

"Oh, I'm just here to pick up some suits. I'm from Louis Vuitton," Atem said, hoping Kaiba had left a word with his gate secretary.

"Oh, yes, of course. Come right in, sir," the voice said before the gate gently swung open on automatic hinges.

Atem made his way up the long driveway up to the house, noting a four-car garage on the side of the large building. One of the doors was open, revealing an empty space and a Porsche that was being washed by an unhappy looking man in a suit. Obviously he hadn't been expecting to wash a car today, or perhaps he would have dressed more appropriately. The Egyptian wondered which car normally resided in the empty space before realizing it was probably the vehicle Jou said Kaiba had dropped off at the mechanic. _What was it again? Oh yeah, an Aston Martin. I wonder what that car looks like_, Atem mused, stopping on the front porch and knocking on the great double doors that led inside the mansion. Immediately, two men standing just inside opened the doors, ushering the teen inside. A maid came down a spiral staircase, holding the suit bag out to Atem.

"Master Kaiba requests this suit be finished before tomorrow evening, as he plans to wear it to a business gathering," the maid said as Atem took the bag from her.

"We will take that into account," Atem nodded, "Please inform Kaiba-san that we will call upon its completion."

"Of course, sir," the maid curtsied before turning around and disappearing back up the steps.

Feeling somewhat nervous from the atmosphere of the mansion, Atem wasted no time leaving the establishment.

"Mission accomplished. Now to see what's wrong with this thing…."

**000000000**

Atem pored over the white suit, checking for stains. None. Rips in the seams? None. Irregular stitching? None. It couldn't be the size, either. All three were made with the same measurements, and this was the only one he had sent back, after all. What on earth was wrong with it? After what seemed like hours, but was really only forty-five minutes, Atem leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. Would he ever find the mistake? _Wait. Maybe there isn't a mistake at all. Maybe Kaiba-san sent it back because he wants me to suffer for being rude to him the other night!_ Crimson eyes closed and he took a deep breath. _No. I don't think he'd do that. There's _got _to be something wrong with it, I just know._ That's when he found it. Inside the jacket, a bit of the lining was coming away from the main fabric, exposing the outer white fabric. It was small, but it could rip easily; once that happened, it would only be a matter of time before the outer seams wore thin and the sleeve itself could fall off.

"Kaiba-san has a good eye," Atem muttered to himself, reaching for a small sewing kit and pinning the hole shut while he rummaged through the kit for blue thread that would match the lining.

Threading a needle, he looked down at the spool of thread and let out an undignified snort of laughter. Kaiba-san had ordered the lining of his suit jackets in the same exact color of his eyes. Atem paused. _When did I notice the color of his eyes…?_

**000000000**

Seto was still at Kaiba Corporation when his phone rang; upon answering, he discovered that it was one of the maids from the mansion.

"Yes, what do you want?" he asked, his voice showing irritation at being called while he was busy.

"I'm sorry, sir, but your suit has been finished. The boutique would like to know if you want it delivered or will pick it up yourself."

"Tell them I'll come get it on my way home," he said, then set the phone back down on the hook.

**000000000**

Blue eyes glittered in the lamplight as Seto stepped out of the limo that had come to pick him up from work. It was only seven-fifteen, but the sky was dark, signaling that another storm was on its way. He was lucky; the shop was going to close in a few minutes and then he would have to bother himself with picking his suit up the next day. Pushing the door open, he heard the bell above ring to alert the employees of a customer. The familiar worker with exotic hair and striking red eyes looked up from his post.

"Ah, Kaiba-san. Just a moment," he said, every word the perfect employee.

_Except for that bit of rudeness the last time I came_, Seto reminded himself as the other man fetched the now-repaired suit from the room it had been kept in. Atem returned moments later and gently handed the suit bag over to the much taller man.

"We apologize for that defect in the lining," Atem said, trying not to look like he was openly staring at Kaiba as he observed the color of the brunette's eyes.

"Just don't make the same mistake again," Seto said, giving the other an irritated look. He paused. "Listen," he glanced down at Atem's name tag, "Mutou, I know I'm gorgeous, but it's rude to stare."

Atem paused, mouth opening as his jaw dropped somewhat. He turned his head slightly to the side to hide a blush of embarrassment.

"Staring?"

"Yes, _staring_. It's quite rude."

With that, Kaiba turned on his heel and strode out of the boutique with his suit, leaving Atem to gawk after him.

"I… I wasn't staring!"

**000000000**

Ooh, I really shouldn't have written this. I'm supposed to be writing an essay that's due Monday about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I'm also supposed to be writing up an analysis for a math project that's due Thursday (obviously not today Thursday, or I'd be in big trouble. Next week Thursday.) Students these days are so overworked!

I also apologize for the slowness of this fic, although it seems you guys like it. It's a Seto/Yami story, and there's barely been any Seto/Yami interaction! I'm getting there, I guess. Oh well… it's okay, right? Right? Haha.

**Remember…**

Reviews are **amazing** and so are the people who leave them!

**Thank you for your support!**


	5. A Woman's Intuition

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Yay, 11 reviews so far! -thumbs up- Thanks for the continuing support! Now it's time for the (somewhat shorter than normal) chapter five!

**000000000**

Atem closed up the shop, double-checking the alarm system before exiting the building and locking the doors. He was still on edge from Seto's comment about the staring, and his face flushed with embarrassment from the memory alone. He shrugged his jacket on, glad for its warmth as the nights got colder. Summer was ending, and the leaves on the trees were beginning to turn marvelous shades of gold, scarlet, and auburn. One such leaf fell from a branch overhead, the cherry red object landing in his hair. His mouth twisted into a slight frown as he pulled it from the black and red locks. Holding it in his hand, he looked up into the further darkening sky for a hint of the stars only to find them all hidden behind gathering storm clouds.

"Not another storm, we've had _enough_ rain," Atem muttered, letting the leaf flutter to the ground as he continued on his way home.

However, the sky did not reciprocate Atem's thoughts, and the first few raindrops plummeted down from the clouds above, staining little dots on the pavement. _Brilliant_, Atem thought, _I have to walk home in this?_ Not wanting to be caught in the middle of the storm, the nineteen-year-old broke into a run. _I _knew _I should've brought the car today. It was wishful thinking trying to convince myself the rain was over and done with._ As his journey progressed, the drops became heavier and more insistent on falling. The rain dampened his hair and jacket, sinking in to chill his skin. He stopped for a moment underneath a shop's awning to catch his breath and warm up. _I'm never going to make it. It's raining pretty hard already._ Crimson eyes closed briefly as he let out a sigh, looking out at the street when suddenly rolling thunder was heard and the storm let on full force. _Fan-frickin-tastic_. Leaning against the wall of the shop, he reached into his pocket to search for his cell phone. His fingers hit the lining, finding nothing but pocket lint. _Yep, today is not my day. Mondays are_ never _my day. Ugh._

He turned around, glancing into the shop behind him. It was an antiques store and it was still open. _Thank the heavens_, he thought, stepping into the shop and over to the counter. The elderly woman keeping the register looked up.

"May I help you, sir?"

"I was wondering if I could use your phone," he admitted. "I seem to have misplaced my cell phone, and I need to call for a ride home."

"Of course you may," the woman said, ushering him towards the staff lounge where a phone hung on the wall.

"Thank you very much," Atem called after her as she returned to her post.

He picked up the receiver and pressed in the numbers to Jou's apartment- aside from himself, Jou and Shizuka were the ones that lived closest to his current location. The phone rang several times before going to the answering machine. _Damn._ He hung up and tried again, desperately hoping one of them would be there and pick up the phone. The teen was in luck- on the second ring, someone answered.

"Hello, this is Shizuka," came a soft voice over the line.

"Shizuka, thank heavens," Atem breathed, "is Jou there?"

"Yes, just a minute," she replied, setting the phone down to find her brother.

"Hello?"

"Jou, can you do me a favor?"

"Atem? Sure man, what is it?"

"You know that antiques place a few streets away from the boutique? That's where I am right now, can you come pick me up? It's raining like crazy."

"No problem. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Thanks."

Replacing the receiver on the wall, he exited the staff lounge, thanking the woman once again for letting him use the phone. She nodded and wished him a good evening as he left the shop to stand under the awning and wait for Jou. It didn't take him long; the blonde's car was in front of the store in about five minutes.

"Man, you were right. It's a nightmare out here," Jou called over the sound of the storm.

"I thought I could beat it home, but I was wrong," Atem said, rushing into the car to minimize the amount of time he was out in the wet atmosphere.

"Yeah, well. I would have tried to do the same thing."

**000000000**

"Thanks a ton, Jou," Atem said as he exited the car.

"You know something? You thank people too much," Jou smiled as he waved and drove off.

_Do I really?_ Atem wondered, running up to the front door of his apartment complex and fishing out his keys before ascending the staircase that led to the second floor. He unlocked his door and stepped inside, thankful for the warmth of his apartment. Spiked hair was pushed back to relieve the man of the sticky feeling created by wet hair and clothes on skin. Atem pulled his jacket off and threw it over the back of a kitchen chair, letting the water drip out of it and onto the tile floor with a steady dripping sound. Pulling out another chair, he slumped into it and flipped through the mail he pulled out of his box before coming upstairs. _Bill. Bill. Junk mail. Junk. Junk. More junk. Nothing interesting._ He ripped up the junk mail and tossed it into the trashcan under the sink, setting the bills aside to look at later. A small puddle had now accumulated beneath the chair that held his jacket, and he frowned at it. _Stupid rain. It's making my apartment dirty._ Instead of cleaning it up, however, he picked up his phone and dialed in his voicemail. A smooth automated voice entered his ear.

"You have one unheard message. First unheard message. Sent at six-fifteen p.m."

Atem listened to Honda say something about work and deleted the message, making a note to call him back later. Careful to avoid the puddle on the floor, he walked into the bathroom and washed his face before changing into his pajamas and climbing into bed. Staring up at the ceiling, he mulled over the day's events. It had been okay, he decided, except for the whole incident with a certain brunette named Seto Kaiba. He frowned. He had _not_ been staring. Why would he be staring at a customer? Of course not. Definitely not. Right?

**000000000**

Seto was restless. The tall blue-eyed man paced back and forth in his home office, frowning all the while. The suit he had picked up lay over his desk, hiding the papers he had been working on that day. Impatience ruled him as he thought about the Aston Martin; he wanted to go out for a drive, but the car wasn't ready. Mokuba would probably kill him if he went out tonight anyways- another storm was raging outside. After he'd called the other night, he woke up to find a longwinded message from his little brother about how dangerous speeding around in the rain could be, as well as sitting out there and talking to him on the phone. Seto's mouth twitched upwards in a small smile at the thought of his brother getting so worked up about his safety. _Mokuba_, he thought, _aren't I supposed to be the one worried about_ you A knock sounded on the door, and a maid was revealed through the small crack between the door and wall.

"Master Kaiba? Terribly sorry to disturb you, but your bath is ready."

Seto nodded, and the maid disappeared off to another duty as he made his way to the master bathroom.

**000000000**

Anzu yawned as she sat at the small kitchen table. She was leafing through some bridal magazines, trying to find the perfect decorations for her wedding. Tired sapphire eyes glanced up at the digital clock on the microwave. Eleven-twenty. A pale hand came up to stifle a yawn. _No wonder I'm so tired. I've been at this for hours… Yugi must be asleep by now._ Marking her page with a sticky note, she closed the magazine and set it on top of the pile on the counter. She filled a small glass with some water and drank it slowly, letting the cold liquid soothe her before she went off to bed.

"Anzu? You're still awake?"

"Ah, I was just heading off to bed, actually," she said, setting the now-empty glass in the half of the sink reserved for dirty dishes.

"That's good. It's not healthy to stay up too late." Yugi yawned, blue eyes half closed from tiredness.

"Have you been up all this time too?" Anzu asked, noticing he was not in his pajamas.

"Not really, I fell asleep before I could change," he admitted, "but it's late now. Let's go to bed."

"Yeah."

Anzu rummaged through her drawers and changed into an oversized t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants as Yugi disappeared into the bathroom. Collapsing into her bed, she looked up at the ceiling, where she had taped pictures of the group of friends. She frowned as she noticed Atem's far off look in nearly all of them. Yugi emerged and looked at her quizzically.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just… doesn't Atem look a little strange in these?"

Yugi peered up at the photos and took in his brother's blank expressions.

"Huh. I don't remember him being so spaced out," he said.

"Not so much spaced out as looking for something," Anzu concluded, "Aren't most of these from when we started dating?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said as he got under the covers. "Maybe he just felt a little left out of the circle."

"Maybe," she replied, settling down into bed as Yugi switched off the lamp.

_I thought so, _she thought, _at that time, Atem seemed conflicted. If I'm right, that's when I noticed he didn't seem so into dating as the rest of us did. I wonder…._

**000000000**

Hmm, what has Anzu discovered? We'll find out soon enough.

_Still_ should be writing my English essay. Ooh, I'm such a slacker. I do have one whole paragraph done, though. Hooray for procrastination! It's so much fun! Haha.

At least my slacking off from schoolwork means I get to write this (but we'll see how it goes when I go back to school on Monday – Oh winter break, I shall miss thee! – _hopefully _I'll be just as speedy with updates. Hopefully. Let's keep our fingers crossed.)

Thank you for the compliments and the comments on things, such as OOC moments (journey maker and inconsistent details (oh, my beta is fabulous).

Like always, **reviews** are amazing and keep this alive.


	6. You Intrigue Me

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

I'm crazy. I should not be writing this. Should not should not should _not_. I have a little more than half my essay done, and I'm effing around with this. Oh well. This time we have some dream time and a bit of Atem and Anzu bonding. **As always, thank you for your support.**

**000000000**

_It was raining outside again; the atmosphere inside the room was gloomy and downtrodden. Crimson eyes surveyed their surroundings and couldn't place the location. _Where am I? _Atem thought, reaching around him for any identification of where he might be. He could see nothing, only black shapes against navy blue walls. How he knew they were navy blue, he had no idea. It was so damned dark in there. Caramel fingers traveled over silk sheets before they hit something warm- something breathing. The teen froze, cautiously pulling his hand away before it was caught in a particularly strong grip. Ice blue eyes flicked open, staring up at their reflection in scarlet mirrors. His breath was caught in his throat and he couldn't move. The name for this emotion, what was it? It wasn't fear…._

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."_

"_That's not what I asked," came the voice, blue eyes shining in demand, "Now, what are you doing here?"_

"_I don't know."_

"_How can you not know? You're here, aren't you?"_

"_I just… ended up here."_

_The azure-eyed teen gave out an undignified snort, pulling Atem closer. _

"_It's against the law, you know, to trespass in someone else's home in the middle of the night."_

_Atem's breathing hitched; he was far too close to the other for comfort and yet, he liked it. He liked the feeling of his heart pounding in his ears as the other man held him captive._

"_K-Kaiba-san… I…."_

"_Hmm?"_

"_I…."_

**000000000**

Atem sat bolt upright in bed, hand clutching at his chest as his heart continued to pound within. Red eyes darted around the room; finding it was his own safe apartment, he let out a sigh and flopped back down onto the pillows. What on earth had _that_ been about? A hand came up to brush blonde bangs out of his line of vision. His breathing was still erratic as he lay there in silence, staring up at the blank expanse that was his ceiling. Atem turned his head to the side, observing the white color of his bedroom walls. Building policy wouldn't let him paint them, but if he could, he wasn't sure what color he'd choose. _No, that's not true. I'd paint them blue. They'd be blue, like the color of his eyes._ He gave another sigh and closed his eyes, trying to fall back into the deep slumber he'd awoken from, but he had no such luck. _What is wrong with me lately?_

**000000000**

Morning was not kind to Atem either; after falling back into a light sleep he was rudely awakened once more by the ringing of his alarm on his bedside table. He yawned, hitting the off button- though he very much wanted to press snooze instead- and pulling himself out of bed. _Another fine day, huh? More rain- just what I needed._ He was halfway to the kitchen when he realized he didn't have work today. Kanagawa-san was going to be out of town for three days, and while he was perfectly capable of running the shop on his own, she felt bad having him doing all that work by himself and so closed the boutique for the few days she would be gone. _Great. I pulled myself out of bed only to realize that I could still be sleeping. Oh well… maybe I'll go visit Yugi and Anzu instead, then._ He picked up the phone for what seemed like the millionth time in recent days and hit the speed dial. A sleepy voice drifted into his ear from the other end.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Anzu-chan. Would you mind if I dropped by today?"

"Not at all," she said, sleep deserting her body as the day began to require concentration and their conversation went on. "Is there a special reason why?"

"Not really," Atem replied, "I don't have work today and it would be useless to just sit around the apartment all day."

"Well, Yugi has to work, but we could go out to lunch or something. Would you mind coming with me to look at some decorations?"

"That sounds fine. I'll come around ten, okay?"

"I'll see you then," Anzu said, hanging up the phone.

The brunette leaned back in her bed, staring once again at the pictures on the ceiling. She'd ask him about it at lunch, then.

**000000000**

Meanwhile, a certain Seto Kaiba wasn't sleeping well either. His own dream had been a close variant of Atem's, and he awoke feeling disconcerted and nervous. Never before had he felt like that, either in real life or a dream. What concerned him the most, however, was that he barely knew the man. Sure, he knew the things Kanagawa-san had told him and a few other things he'd managed to dig up so far, but he didn't personally associate with him. He closed his eyes and counted to ten, hoping it would help relax him, but all it did was burn the image of those crimson eyes further into his brain. Those eyes were invading his soul, and he didn't like it one bit. _It was just a silly dream. Nothing comes of believing in dreams, Seto. You know that. Stop acting like a fool. _

**000000000**

Yugi had gone to work for the day and Anzu reclaimed her place at the kitchen table, waiting for ten o' clock to come by so she wouldn't be bored out of her mind by herself. She opened the bridal magazine from last night to the page with the sticky note and continued browsing through, noting down page numbers of certain things she liked. There wasn't much; she never thought she'd be so picky about something like this. Sighing, she closed the magazine and grabbed another, opening it to a random page. As it happened, it had the most beautiful fabric patterns on it. _This is it,_ she breathed as she circled one of them, _this is the pattern I want for my tablecloths._ _I'll just have to show Yugi later and see what he thinks, but I'm almost completely positive he'll love it too._ A knock on the door brought her out of her excited perusing of the rest of that particular magazine, and she set down her pen before answering the door, throwing her arms around Atem in a hug. He blinked, startled a little by the forceful hug of his sister-in-law to be.

"Oh, I've finally found the most _perfect_ pattern for the decorations," she beamed, "you _have_ to come see!"

"Is that what this is all about?" he laughed, letting himself be led to the kitchen table where Anzu flipped open to a sticky noted page that boasted the design she had chosen.

It was fairly simple, but there was no denying how pretty it really was. Embroidered roses ran in a pattern along the edge of the tablecloth while the center had a large embroidered rose. Atem could see why the brunette had chosen it.

"Isn't it pretty?" she asked.

"Yes, very much so."

She sat down, beckoning for him to do the same as she showed him other things she'd been looking at. Atem was a good helper, voicing his opinions to help her narrow down the selections a bit. After about two hours, she had the list of final decorations to discuss with Yugi, and her list of backups in case he was skeptical about some of her choices.

"Well then," she smiled, "let's go out to lunch then, shall we?"

"Yes, food does sound delightful," he replied as his stomach let out a rather embarrassing growl. "And my stomach certainly agrees."

**000000000**

Lunch was a casual affair; Anzu and Atem had both agreed on visiting the same restaurant the gang had gone to previously. It wasn't too expensive or particularly cheap, but it had good food and they all enjoyed going there. They were seated inside by the window, both happy to see that the rain was beginning to clear up again. It hadn't been terribly hard when they made their journey from the apartment to the restaurant, but it was nice all the same. Domino had had too much rain. It was getting to be kind of depressing. The waitress handed them some menus and Atem quickly made his choice, letting Anzu search for a meal as he observed the people outside. The rain was little more than sprinkles now, so more people were walking- however, trusty umbrellas remained close at hand for most, if not all, of them. He was about to turn back and ask Anzu if she'd made a decision yet when he saw a familiar brunette walking down the street, talking away on a cell phone with a serious expression on his face.

"Kaiba-san?" he breathed, suddenly entranced by the other's presence on the street.

He was further shocked when the man closed his cell phone and began to cross the street, making his way towards the restaurant. _Would Kaiba-san even think of eating here? Doesn't he have enough money to eat somewhere high class all the time if he wants?_

**000000000**

Kaiba made his way into the restaurant, wondering why he was even there in the first place. If he had wanted to, he could have gone to the most expensive restaurant in the city. Something, however, had drawn him to this place. He ignored the stares of the people in the restaurants as a blushing waitress led him to an empty table, and suddenly he knew why he was there. The worker from the Louis Vuitton boutique and Mazaki were sitting two tables away. Red eyes looked up from a conversation with the woman and suddenly caught his. Seto found himself staring, not hearing the waitress asking what he wanted to drink. The worker seemed just as caught up as he did, not breaking their gaze even as Mazaki leaned over the table and shook him gently.

"Atem? Atem, are you okay?" Anzu asked before giving up and sitting back in her seat, a little insulted by his sudden lack of attention.

She followed his gaze and gasped as she realized just who her friend was looking at. She was equally as surprised when she saw him staring back with equal intensity. _Though, I shouldn't really be surprised, should I?_ she thought. _I _knew _something was up._ Anzu smiled and waited patiently for Atem to look back as another waitress came to take their order. The waitress blocked Atem and Seto's view of each other, and Seto was forced to turn his attention back to his own waitress, who seemed relieved that he was finally paying attention and ordering. Once the waitress had taken down Anzu and Atem's orders, Anzu took her opportunity to strike.

"Atem, you've been keeping something from us, haven't you?"

"What?" Atem asked, his eyes widening a little in surprise.

"I noticed it last night when I was looking at old pictures of all of us. You always had this _look_ about you, I don't really know how to explain it… but that's gone now. Something's tied you down, Atem."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Anzu," he said, confused at what she was getting at.

"I think you're in love, Atem," she said.

"What!?" the Egyptian yelped, nearly dropping his glass of water.

"Someone's finally managed to capture your attention, haven't they?"

Her expression was warm and accepting. Atem sighed, a blush covering his cheeks as he looked at his friend in defeat.

"Yes… I… suppose someone has."

"You don't have to keep it a secret, Atem. It's Kaiba-san, isn't it?"

The blush on Atem's face grew redder and he turned away. Sapphire eyes twinkled knowingly. _Yep, another question answered by none other than Anzu-chan! I knew it was going to be something like this._

"You won't… tell the others, will you, Anzu-chan?"

"That's your decision, not mine. I'll keep it a secret as long as you want me to, though I do think you should tell your brother. And maybe Jou, if you don't want him to go beserk and kill Kaiba-san. He really dislikes him… Kaiba-san wasn't very… ah, agreeable… in high school."

**000000000**

Seto frowned. Ever since that waitress had to come and ruin things, the object of his attention had gone back to chatting with that insufferable friendship-spouter, Mazaki. _Couldn't someone like that choose better friends?_ He didn't even notice when the waitress came back with his ordered drink before disappearing again. Blue eyes narrowed as he wondered what they were talking about. Mazaki looked like she had just learned something particularly pleasing, while the man- Mutou-san, he corrected himself- seemed to be extremely embarrassed. He figured that Mazaki had called him on the staring, and was only glad that she wasn't pushing the Egyptian towards him in an effort to make friends. No, he was quite content with not having to deal with her at the moment. He was too busy examining the exotic man, mind flitting back to his dream from the previous night. Then Mazaki stood, leaving the table to make her way towards the women's bathroom. He wasn't quite sure how, but the brunette now found himself sitting in her recently vacated chair. Crimson eyes stared into blue with a hint of confusion.

"Imagine seeing you here."

"I think the proper thing to say is, imagine seeing _you_ here," Atem replied, wondering why his speech sounded more coherent than this thoughts did.

"Indeed," Kaiba said, lips twisting into a smirk.

"Is there… is there something you needed?" Atem asked, hearing his heart beat so loudly he could hardly believe that no one else could hear it.

"You intrigue me," Kaiba said, leaning a fraction closer, "and it unnerves me. What's your name?"

"A-Atem. Mutou Atem."

"Is that so…. Well, it appears that Mazaki is returning," he commented, "I expect to see you again in the future."

Atem nodded dazedly, watching the taller man return to his own table and calmly take a sip of his water. He inwardly slapped himself for stuttering in Kaiba's presence as Anzu returned and took her seat. Apparently she hadn't noticed Kaiba sitting there as she came back, because she didn't say anything about it, nor did her eyes betray that she had.

"Atem? Is something wrong?" she questioned.

"No. Nothing's wrong," he said, forcing a smile and hoping it didn't look too fake.

**000000000**

Kaiba's made some of his feelings toward Atem clear. What'll happen now, I wonder?

**Reviews** are forever appreciated.


	7. Infiltrating His Thoughts

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

I hate school. Enough said. And yes, you CAN buy your Aston Martin with wool carpeting. It might not be smart when your feet are wet, like Seto's have been from the rain, because it might start to smell. Also, just experimenting with a bit of Jou's accent.

**Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

**000000000**

Anzu and Atem had parted ways after lunch; Anzu was going to order her tablecloths while Atem was going to find something else to do. They had finished their meal long before Kaiba-san, and Atem could swear he had felt blue eyes trail him out the door. He gave a little shiver, casting his gaze around to find something else to think about. The whole encounter had unnerved him somewhat, yet in a good way. _Just like in the dream_, he mused. _Funny, isn't it? I barely even know the guy._

**000000000**

Atem found himself in front of Jou's garage less than twenty minutes later, having taken a bus to the establishment. He walked in and some of the other employees waved; Yugi-tachi visited the garage often and so the employees knew all of them by name. One man went into the working garage and returned a moment later, a familiar blonde mop of hair trailing behind.

"Oh, hey, Atem! What brings ya here?"

"Day off," Atem supplied with a shrug. "Are you too busy? I'll leave if it's a problem."

"Nah. The guys don't care," Jou said, dropping the wrench he held onto a counter beside the door to the working garage.

"I went out with Anzu this morning," Atem said as Jou pulled out two chairs by the staff break table and motioned for him to sit down. "We looked over some decorations to pick out some that we thought Yugi would like, and then we went out to lunch."

"Where'd ya go?"

"The same place as we all went before, that café. It was rather nice; I think I've taken a great liking to it. What have you been up to today?"

"Oh, just working on that rich bastard's car. It's real nice, you wanna see it?"

"Can I?" Atem asked, intrigued at the prospect of viewing this car- especially if it was as nice as Jou insisted it was. _Not because it's Kaiba's,_ Atem thought to himself, _Definitely not._

Jou took Atem into the working garage, where a team was working on replacing the engine of the Aston Martin. It was true; the car had a sleek, impressive design along with fabulous leather interior. Atem's mouth dropped open in slight wonderment, and Jou gave a smirk.

"Told ya it was a nice car."

"It certainly is," Atem breathed, resisting the urge to reach out and touch it.

"Ya wanna sit in it? I'd offer ta take it for a drive, but the engine isn't in yet."

"Is that legal?" Atem asked, though nodded to Jou's original question.

"Well, Moneybags asked that we drop it off at the mansion when it's done, so I'd just drive ya over, I guess." _Even though he wouldn't really want _me _bringin' it over, would he? Damn Moneybags. I'd do it just ta spite him._

The blonde opened the door and motioned for Atem to step in. He did, careful not to dirty anything in the surprisingly clean interior. His feet left small indentations on the plush wool carpeting and the smooth leather felt good to sit on. A hand reached out to caress the suede dashboard, amazed by the luxury the car provided. No wonder Seto Kaiba owned one. Atem wanted one. _I want _this _one, _he thought, _I have the feeling none other would be as nice as Seto Kaiba's._ Atem stiffened after letting his thoughts sink in. He wanted this car because it was Kaiba's. Had Anzu truly been right in saying he loved the other? A faint blush graced the former Pharaoh's cheeks, and Jou stared at his friend quizzically.

"Atem? You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Atem said quickly, sliding out of the car and shutting the door behind him.

"So what did ya think of it?"

"It… suits him," Atem stated, eyes far off.

"What?" Jou asked, confused.

"Nothing, Jou," Atem said, shaking his head. "I have to go. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Right," Jou said, unable to shake his doubts as the spiky-haired man left the garage.

**000000000**

Yugi came home from work, tired but excited to be home after a long day at the office.

"Welcome back," Anzu said with a smile as he walked into the kitchen.

The brunette was cooking dinner on the stove, the list of decorations she and Atem had chosen laid out on the table next to the corresponding magazines. Yugi eyed them, flipping through to some of the pages she had noted.

"These are nice," he said, "I really like this tablecloth."

The one he had pointed to was the rose one, and Anzu beamed as she turned off the flame of the stove and took out some plates.

"That was my first choice," she said, "but Atem helped me make the final decision. I'm so glad you like it!"

"Atem came over?" Yugi asked, accepting a bowl of rice from Anzu as she put two plates together for them.

"Yes. We went out to lunch, too. We saw Kaiba-san."

"Where'd you go that you saw Kaiba-san? Isn't he really rich and successful?" Yugi asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The same restaurant we all got together to go to, actually. I'm not quite sure what he was doing there either," she said, not willing to give away the story of Atem's attraction quite yet. She wasn't exactly sure how Yugi would take the fact that his older brother seemed to be attracted to the most eligible bachelor in Domino- no, Japan.

"Oh well. I hope he wasn't rude," Yugi said, eying Anzu's home cooked meal with hunger.

"No, not at all, actually," Anzu said as she put Yugi's plate down in front of him before taking her own seat.

"That's good," Yugi said before the two of them dug into their delicious dinner.

**000000000**

The Kaiba Mansion seemed emptier than ever, and Seto couldn't figure out why. He had been managing without Mokuba- true, it wasn't pleasant, but he had learned to deal without his little brother's near-constant presence over time. The phone rang, and Seto grabbed it, bringing the receiver to his ear.

"Kaiba," he said, his voice coming out sounding somewhat dull.

"Nii-sama. How are you doing?"

"Hn… well enough."

"I hope that means you're eating and sleeping enough."

"How are your studies going?" Seto asked, diverting the conversation before Mokuba got the chance to ask any more questions about his health. He was doing just fine, but his standards of fine weren't exactly the same as Mokuba's.

"Oh, really good! I just took a big test today, I'm confident that I got an A on it."

"That's good to hear," Seto said, his voice softening somewhat. "Keep up the good work, Mokuba."

"Of course, nii-sama. Have you…." Mokuba paused for a moment, but then continued on with his question. "You aren't too lonely by yourself, are you? I'm worried for you, Seto."

"You don't need to be worried about me. Worry about yourself," Seto replied, avoiding Mokuba's question.

"Nii-sama…."

"It's late. I'll speak to you later, Mokuba."

"…Fine. Good night, nii-sama."

"Good night."

Seto hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. He _was_ lonely, but he'd never admit it, not even to Mokuba. He felt a little twinge at the thought that he'd hung up on his brother when he had really wanted to talk to him. He just didn't want to face Mokuba's questions about his well-being. Was that so wrong? He closed his eyes, willing some semblance of peace to come to his mind. What happened though, however, was quite the opposite. Instead of a calming feeling descending over him, the image of crimson eyes floated in the forefront of his mind. Azure eyes shot open and he stared instead at the walls of his home office.

"What is _wrong_ with me?" the brunette muttered, pushing his bangs away from his face. "Why does he have this kind of power over my thoughts? No one does this to Seto Kaiba. No one."

However, it was no use fighting it- Atem Mutou was infiltrating his thoughts. Slowly but surely, he was making his presence known, and quite strongly at that, to the ice-hearted CEO of Kaiba Corp. _What do I do…?_ _What do I _want _to do?_ He sighed and picked himself up out of the chair and to his bedroom. As much as he wanted to think this through and analyze the situation until he fully understood it, all of this was just making him much too tired. _I'll think about it in the morning_, he assured himself, _It'll be a welcome distraction from that fool Kawashima's rambling during our meeting tomorrow._

**000000000**

I thought it should be noted that because Yugi and Atem didn't go to the same high school as the rest of the gang, that Mokuba didn't know them. Because of this, there wasn't exactly a "Yugi-tachi" and he wasn't friends with them. He doesn't even know Yugi and Atem at the moment, but he does know the others.

We'll see how updates go after this. Sorry this is short – a whole page less than normal.


	8. The Right Thing

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

YES! Finally, a bit of slack on the school front. Just have a math assignment and a poster to make. On another note, there's a new face in this chapter.

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. **

**000000000**

"Mokuba?"

Mokuba was just closing his phone from his talk with Seto when a fair-haired girl appeared in the doorway to the younger Kaiba's dorm room. Emotion danced in her clear blue eyes as she waited for a response. Mokuba turned from his desk at the inquiry and smiled upon noticing who his visitor was.

"Kisara! What did you need?"

Kisara brushed a long strand of white hair from her face and held out her math book.

"I'm sorry if I was interrupting. Could you help me with today's assignment?"

"No, it's fine, you weren't interrupting anything," Mokuba said, clearing off the chair next to him and motioning for the girl to sit. "Which parts were giving you trouble?"

"Well…," Kisara said, sighing, "Just about all of it, actually. Ever since we've had this substitute, I haven't been understanding a thing."

"Yeah, I know how that feels," Mokuba said, grabbing his own book and assignment. "Let's start with example one."

**000000000**

Seto Kaiba awoke on a lovely day; the sun was shining and all traces of rain clouds had been brushed from the sky. However, it was a weak sunlight- autumn finally seemed to have settled in upon Domino. The brunette grumbled, obviously displeased with the weather situation. Blue eyes closed briefly as he pushed himself out of bed, preparing himself for the onslaught of cold that came with exiting a warm bed in cooler temperatures. It came, but only briefly- it wasn't quite cold enough outside for that yet. Pajamas were shed and tossed haphazardly onto the bed as Seto rummaged through his drawers for something to wear to work. He had a meeting, so it had to be imposing. He was going to be the one calling the shots in this meeting, just like always. Seto wanted some of Kawashima Corp's technology for his new gaming system.

"That man is such a fool," Seto murmured to himself, "I can't even begin to fathom how he came up with this technology."

At that moment, a maid knocked on the young billionaire's door and opened it a small distance only after an allowing grunt from her employer.

"Mr. Kaiba, sir, your Aston Martin has arrived."

Seto's eyes widened and he brushed past the maid and out into the drive of the mansion, where his Aston Martin sat parked. _Finally_, Seto thought, running his hand over the hood of the car. He stopped dead, however, when he noticed who was sitting in the front seat. Jounouchi Katsuya.

"Get the hell out of my car, mutt," Seto growled, eyes narrowed in a fierce glare.

"What a way ta thank someone for their hard work, huh? You're the one that wanted someone ta come drop it off anyways, ya know? Ya could've had one of your goons come pick it up, or yourself even."

"I wasn't expecting them to think a dog could drive a car," Seto snarled, opening the driver's side door and yanking Jou out of the expensive vehicle by his shirt collar.

"Hey! Put me down!" Jou yelled, trying to pull away from Seto's grip on him.

At that moment, Kaiba's cell phone began to ring. He scowled, dropping the blonde onto the ground and flipping the phone open.

"Kaiba," he spat into the phone.

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked, somewhat careful after hearing the tone of his brother's voice.

"I can't talk right now, Mokuba," Seto said, at which Jou's ears perked up.

"Mokuba?" Jou asked.

"Who is that, nii-sama?" Mokuba inquired, not recognizing it as the voice of any Kaiba staff.

"Not important," Seto said, "I will call you later."

The phone was snapped shut and replaced in a pocket. Jou raised an eyebrow as he picked himself up off of the ground and dusted himself off.

"Isn't it kinda rude ta hang up on your little brother, Moneybags?"

"Don't tell me what to do, mutt. Now get off of my property before I have you arrested," Seto snarled.

"Yeah, yeah," Jou muttered, taking as much time as he dared as he left the mansion.

**000000000**

"Jou, what happened?" Anzu cried as Jou pushed open the doors to the Louis Vuitton boutique.

The brunette rushed from behind the counter where she had been taking over for Atem, who was taking a short break. Jou shrugged, wincing as his shirt rubbed the bruise that had been made when his collar dug into his neck as Seto held him up. Blue eyes narrowed, obviously not believing his half-hearted dismissal of the subject.

"Jounouchi Katsuya, do not lie to me. What happened?"

"I dropped off that car to Moneybags' mansion."

"You didn't," Anzu breathed, "I thought you said you wouldn't go near there again!"

"The rest of the guys were on break, so I took it," Jou said, "And he pulled me outta the car by the collar, that's all."

"That's all? _That's all?_ Jou, you know he doesn't like you!"

Atem came out of the staff room after hearing the commotion begin. At the sight of Anzu and Jou quarreling, he took the last few feet in larger strides, pushing the two apart.

"What's going on?"

"Jou went to Kaiba's, even though Kaiba _hates_ Jou! And now he's got this awful bruise."

"Bruise? What?"

Atem's eyes widened in shock at the dark line on the back of Jou's neck.

"Kaiba-san did that?"

"I told you the other day, Atem. Kaiba-san was never very agreeable with us. His little brother Mokuba was all right, and Kaiba-san was nicer when Mokuba was around, but he's not here anymore. He's attending school overseas."

"I don't believe that Kaiba-san could do something like this," Atem said.

"That's because ya don't know him, Atem," Jou muttered.

"Maybe not, but I still don't believe this. You should go get Shizuka to put something on that."

Jou muttered a few choice words about Kaiba, but listened to Atem's advice and left the shop. Anzu sighed, slumping into a chair as Atem reclaimed his post behind the counter.

"I know you like him, Atem, but you really _don't_ know how he can be."

**000000000**

Red eyes closed as lips parted to let out a sigh. It was late afternoon, getting close to the time that Atem was to close up the shop. The clock ticked noisily over the absence of the music that usually played in the building. He leaned forward onto his arms and stared out the window, waiting to see if any last-minute customers were going to arrive. He sat straight up as an expensive car stopped in front of the boutique. The bell over the door rang as a familiar brunette walked inside and over to the counter.

"I have told you before that you interest me," Kaiba said, fishing a pair of tickets out of his pocket and laying them on the counter, "You will accompany me on Friday evening."

"What?" Atem asked, momentarily stunned by Seto's forward attitude.

"We are going to be attending a dinner show," the brunette said, leaving Atem no choice in the matter. "It will be formal, so wear something nice."

"Right…." Atem said, still taken aback from the whole situation.

Seto turned to leave, newest trenchcoat flowing behind him gracefully. He was halfway out the door when Atem spoke up.

"Um… Kaiba-san? Is it true… are you the one that put that bruise on Jou's neck today?"

"So you know the mutt, too?" Seto smirked.

Atem paused, a frown forming on his face. He picked the tickets up and walked over to Seto, placing them back in his hand.

"I refuse to go out with someone who hurts my friends," he said, "Have a good evening."

The shop door closed in Seto's face, blue eyes amazed at the rejection as Atem turned the open sign over to say closed. _What!? How dare he reject me, Seto Kaiba! _Seto stormed off to his car, which Atem realized was the Aston Martin he had been admiring a few days before. He slumped against the door and sighed. _Why did I do that? I had the perfect chance…. Jou is more important, though. He's a good friend, and doesn't deserve to be manhandled like that. But did I really do the right thing…?_

**000000000**

"You did _what_? Oh, Atem… Jou will be fine, you know that. This used to happen all the time," Anzu spoke into the phone, fixing up some tea for herself during a commercial break of her favorite television show.

"I know, but I just can't see someone who is going to hurt my friends, Anzu."

"You're just like Yugi, you know? So concerned about your friends. But what about your _own_ happiness, Atem? You deserve to have the things you want as much as anyone else does."

"I know, it's just…."

"I understand. Just… think about it. Is this really what you want?"

**000000000**

Ooh, what have I done?

No worries, though. I promise some good things next chapter.

It seems like I've fallen into weekend updates, so I'm hoping I can continue to keep this schedule.

Thanks for being patient with me!

Note on Kisara:

I really don't know Kisara's personality, so if I end up completely butchering her, I apologize. I guess it _is_ AU, though, so it shouldn't really matter?


	9. The Place You Are Most Happy

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

I really didn't expect such positive reviews on the last chapter. I hated writing it! Well, at least my efforts are appreciated. As promised, a more lighthearted chapter is just ahead. This chapter would have been done days ago if I didn't have driver's training all the time, but hey. It's all good.

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are bliss, and thank you SO much for all the favorites. ALSO!!!! I've been added to a C2 community list. Coolio. **

**000000000**

Sleep was eluding Seto on purpose, he just knew it. The brunette was used to late nights, but generally those were of his own volition. Tonight, however, was a different story. He wanted to sleep, and Seto Kaiba got what he wanted, right? _Apparently not this time_, he scowled to himself while rolling over onto his side to see if it would be more comfortable. It wasn't. The tall teenager pushed himself into a sitting position and glared at his bedroom wall. _This pisses me off_, he thought, _what am I going to do?_ After a long pause, he reluctantly picked his cell phone up off of the nightstand and dialed a number with the greatest look of disgust imaginable plastered across his features.

**000000000**

Three in the morning was not the ideal time to wake up for _anyone_, let alone one Jounouchi Katsuya. Nevertheless, it _was_ three am, he _was_ awake, and it was all because of his blasted phone. _Maybe if I ignore it, it'll shut up_, he thought, burying his head beneath his pillow to block out the noise. The ringing stopped, and Jou breathed a sigh of relief- but his joy was cut short when the ringing started up again.

"Damn it, who is it and what the hell do ya want!?" Jou near-shouted into the phone, angry and just wanting to go back to sleep.

"Is that any way to greet your callers, m- Jounouchi?" Kaiba said, able to catch the insulting nickname but not the sneer in his tone.

"Kaiba!? What the hell? How did ya get my number? Why are ya callin' me at _three in the mornin'_?"

"I used a phone book." _Moron._

"Oh. Well! Why are ya callin' me, anyways!? Don't ya have somethin' better ta do?"

_Yes, actually. I could be sleeping. _"I am calling to apologize," Seto managed to say between clenched teeth, "for my behavior yesterday."

"What?" Jou asked, dumbstruck by this admittance.

"I am sorry for… injuring you."

"Why?"

"What, you aren't happy with my apology? You have to ask why, as well? I can always take it back, you know."

"Oh! Oh, no. Um… thanks?"

"Have a good day," Seto said, snapping his phone shut and wondering what was so wrong with him that he'd consider apologizing to the mutt, let alone actually do it.

_There is something dreadfully wrong with me,_ he mused, _Mokuba must have been right. I really _must _be sick._

**000000000**

It was just past five am when Atem's phone rang, rousing the Egyptian from sleep and into the kitchen, where he very irritably answered the phone.

"_Yes?_" he asked, clearly annoyed and very sleepy.

"Sorry, butIjustgotoffthephonewithJou- hetoldmesomethingreallyamazing- youreallyhavetohearthis!"

"Whoa, Anzu, slow down! First off, why were you talking to Jou this early in the morning? And secondly, what's this really amazing thing you have to tell me?"

There was a pause as the overly excited Anzu took a breath.

"Well, Jou called, that's why I was on the phone with him. Apparently Kaiba-san had called at three to _apologize_ to him."

"Wait, what?"

"He apologized. To Jou. This isn't something that happens every day, you know."

Atem dropped into a seat at the kitchen table and ran a tanned hand through tri-colored locks of hair.

"You're serious?"

"Completely! Call Jou if you don't believe me," Anzu said, and Atem could just hear the smile on her face through her tone of voice.

"No, no, I believe you."

"Well, that's all! Sorry I called you so early, I'll let you get back to sleep."

The line clicked off and Atem was left staring blankly at the receiver in his hands.

"She's got to be kidding me… there's no way I could get back to sleep after that."

**000000000**

The phone rang again at a more proper hour, and Atem answered it, somewhat surprised to hear his brother's voice on the other end rather than Anzu's.

"Guess what!"

"If this is about Kaiba and Jou, I already know," Atem said, "Anzu woke me up at five to tell me."

"What? Kaiba and Jou?" Yugi asked, confused, "What's going on with them?"

"Ah, never mind. What were you going to say?"

"Right… well, Ryou and Malik called from Egypt!" Yugi said excitedly, "They're coming in for the wedding and can't wait to see everyone."

"That should certainly be interesting. You better keep them away from Anzu, Malik might scare her a bit…."

"You really think he'd do that at the wedding?" Yugi asked, his voice now a bit frantic.

"Well, maybe. You know how he is. Don't worry, though, Ryou should be able to handle it."

"Oh, yes. Yes, that's true. Okay. Good."

Atem smiled at his brother's nervousness. Ryou and Malik were friends of theirs from high school who had gone off to Egypt together before Atem and Yugi had met Anzu and the others. Malik tended to be a bit of a troublemaker when he got bored, but he was generally very nice. Ryou seemed to be the type of person who never did anything wrong.

"I'm sure everything will be fine, otouto," Atem said, "but I really have to get going to work."

"Right. Tell Kanagawa-san hello!"

"I will. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye!"

The line clicked off once again and Atem placed the receiver back on the phone dock before grabbing his jacket and keys.

**000000000**

Seto Kaiba was out taking a drive. It was 9:03, mere minutes after Atem should have started his morning shift at the Louis Vuitton boutique. _I am not going to go there yet. I will wait until later, like it's just a random whim. I am not going to make myself look eager_, Seto assured himself. However, his body seemed to have other plans, because it drove him to the boutique in record time. _Right_, Seto thought irritably, _apparently I have other plans for myself. _The shop bell rang as the brunette walked through the door, and Atem looked up from where he was taking the measurements of a plain but rich woman.

"Good morning, Kaiba-san," he said, and Seto was surprised that there was none of the previous night's coldness in his words. "Is there something you needed help with?"

_It's probably just because there is another customer here. _"No, actually. I came… to tell you something."

"To tell me something?" Atem asked, scribbling down a number before asking the woman to turn a certain way.

"Yes."

Atem finished taking the woman's measurements and she left the shop after answering a few of Atem's questions on the color of a dress she was ordering.

"Well?" he asked, inputting the data into the store computer. "Are you going to tell me this something?"

"Hn. About Jounouchi…."

_Thought so_. "What about Jou?"

"I… apologized for my behavior."

"Is that so?" Atem asked, trying to feign surprise at this.

Seto narrowed his blue eyes, seeing the falseness in Atem's expression.

"You knew already."

"I suppose so."

"Then why did you let me make a fool of myself?"

"A fool of yourself?" Atem asked, this time genuinely confused. "You didn't make a fool of yourself."

"Apologies are for fools," Seto said, but his voice trailed off at the look on Atem's face.

"Oh, really. I tend to think that apologies are earnest and should only be given when you truly mean it, not as a way to get someone's affection," Atem replied, the coldness returning to his words.

"That is not what I meant," Seto said quickly.

His only response was an arched eyebrow.

"I was brought up to believe that apologies are for fools," Seto continued, "so it is still strange to give them."

"I see," Atem said, obviously not fully believing the brunette.

"If you wish not to accept that, that's your decision," Seto said, although his eyes were flashing.

"I'll… think about it. Now, if you're not going to purchase anything, I would advise you to leave."

With this, Atem went back to his typing. Seto stared at the other for a moment before exiting the shop, wondering why he had _had_ to mess this up. He had even apologized to the mutt. Didn't Atem know that just didn't happen?

**000000000**

Atem picked at his food, worrying Anzu. Atem usually ate a second helping and complimented Anzu on whatever she had cooked. Not that she was digging for compliments or anything, she just wondered at the change in attitude. The crimson-eyed man let out a sigh, making Yugi look up from his dinner.

"Nii-san, are you okay? You've been sort of out of it all day."

"I was wondering the same thing, actually," Anzu cut in, setting her fork down.

"Have I?" Atem asked. "It's nothing, really. Just thinking about… whether I should accept someone's offer or not."

Anzu paused, letting this sink in before her blue eyes widened in understanding.

"If it were me, Atem, I would definitely accept. Sometimes there are obstacles you have to overcome before you can get to the place you are most happy."

Atem blinked, but knew she understood the situation.

"Thank you, Anzu," he said with a smile, "and by the way, your cooking is just as delicious as always."

"Don't be silly," she said, and the two of them returned to their dinner, leaving Yugi to puzzle things out on his own.

**000000000**

I told you things would be better. Next time, we'll actually _get _somewhere with this. I apologize for the slow nature thus far!

**Note on Malik and Ryou**: These names refer to the hikaris, though since I am cutting out the yamis, Malik is carrying over some of Marik's tendencies for trouble (because a little trouble is always interesting). Ryou, however, carries none of Bakura's traits. And yes! They _are_ dating in this fic, although since they're barely present so if you don't like that pairing, don't worry too much about it.


	10. He'll Tell Eventually

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Mm, I love to drive. It's so much fun! Well, here we go again. Also – footnotes at the end for those of you who don't know what a pass-through is.

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are bliss, and thank you SO much for all the favorites. In response to a question about Kaiba's upbringing: In this universe, it wasn't anything crazy like major abuse. We'll just say he had a particularly hard time because of his future. **

**000000000**

_What am I doing? _

It was late in the evening, and Atem was standing in his kitchen with the receiver to his ear and twisting the phone cord in his hands. The television screen glared at him across the pass-through, eerily illuminating the otherwise dark apartment. He picked up the television remote from the shelf on the pass-through and muted the sound as the phone continued to ring for what seemed to be the hundredth time. _Figures. It's late, who would still be at the office at this time?_ However, the Egyptian was startled when an obviously embarrassed female voice- though at what, Atem wasn't sure- greeted him.

"Kaiba Corp, front desk. How may I help you?"

"Ah, I need to speak to Kaiba-san…."

"Name?"

"Mutou Atem."

A few seconds elapsed as Atem heard the rustling of papers that could only be a list of approved callers.

"I'm sorry, sir, your name isn't on the list."

"It's important."

"I can't patch you through unless you're on the list."

Atem sighed, rubbing his temples and sinking into a chair.

"I have details regarding an order he placed at Louis Vuitton," Atem said, only half-lying.

Kaiba's offer of a date had, after all, come out more like an order for Atem to join him. The secretary at the front desk paused to consider.

"Very well. I'm patching you through."

The crimson-eyed man was forced to listen to that boring elevator music businesses often play as he waited for Kaiba to pick up the phone.

"Kaiba," came a gruff voice.

"Kaiba-san," Atem said, "I wasn't sure you'd still be at your office."

"I am always at my office."

"That can't be healthy."

"Hn. What is the point of this call? I'm busy."

"Friday night. Where should I meet you?"

Atem could almost hear the shock in the brunette's voice as he answered.

"No need. I will send someone for you around six-thirty. Your address?"

"The apartments in the West Villa," Atem replied, "Number 347. I trust you know where that is?"

"Of course," Kaiba said, "And since I'm assuming you don't have much of the appropriate attire, I will also send along something for you to change into."

An eyebrow arched in slight disbelief and amusement and the shorter of the two chuckled into the phone.

"Friday night, then."

"Hn."

**000000000**

"That's fabulous," Anzu beamed over a cup of morning tea, "I'm so happy for you!"

"Yes, well, it _could_ turn out to be a disaster," Atem said.

"Don't be so pessimistic," she frowned, taking a sip of her tea and fixing a cup for Atem.

He shrugged and accepted the cup when she passed it to him. It was Thursday morning, and Atem was skipping work to spend time with Anzu and Yugi. Yugi, however, had yet to wake up. Of course, he also didn't know he was skipping work. Anzu had turned off the alarm without him knowing to allow him a break. Besides, it wasn't like Yugi and Atem's Jiisan couldn't do without help for one day. Atem's teacup had been drained twice before either of them spoke again.

"So, any idea what you're going to wear?"

"Kaiba-san said that he was going to send an outfit for me…."

"Really?" Anzu took a sip of her tea. "That's… kind of weird."

"How do you think I feel? He basically told me he was sending it because he didn't think I had anything appropriate to wear."

"Wait a minute, just _where_ are you going?"

"Some dinner show, I don't know."

"Oh my. You're probably going to… oh, you're _so_ lucky!"

"Anzu, what are you talking about?"

"There's this really popular, high-class restaurant that's been putting on dinner theaters lately. I think it's called The Crescent Blossom? Yeah, that's it."

"What are you two talking about?" came a sleepy voice from the kitchen entryway.

The two more early risers turned to look at the newest participant of their conversation; one very tired looking Yugi Mutou.

"Why are you here anyways, Atem? Don't you have work?"

"I'm skipping. So are you."

"Wait, what?" That seemed to have snapped Yugi out of his sleepy state. "What do you mean I'm skipping work? What will Jiisan say?"

"We already called him. We told him you had a cold," Anzu said cheerfully. "Don't worry about it. We're all going to hang out today."

"Where are we going?" Yugi asked, although he was still a little upset about Anzu and Atem lying so readily to Jiisan. He was sure that Jiisan would have understood if they had told him the truth.

"We are going to get Atem spruced up," Anzu announced.

"What? When did this happen?" Atem asked, mildly concerned for his safety.

"Why?" Yugi asked, reaching for the empty teacup on the counter and the teapot, which was resting on the burner so the tea wouldn't get cold.

"Atem," she began, "is going on a date tomorrow night."

Atem sighed and buried his head in his hands, while Yugi nearly dropped his teacup in surprise.

"Really? That's wonderful! Who is it?"

"That's… it's…."

"Don't push him, Yugi. He'll tell eventually."

**000000000**

By the time Atem finally got home in the afternoon, the news seemed to have traveled to everyone in the small group of friends. Calls poured into Atem's answering machine, congratulating him on having found a girl to make him happy. He sighed, deleting all of them after he listened to the nearly endless stream of the normally quiet Shizuka's message.

"You'd think I'd died or something, with all the attention this seems to have gathered," he muttered to himself. "Well, at least I can trust Anzu not to tell them that 'she' is a 'he'… and one they don't really like, as well! What have I gotten myself into?"

He was just settling in to watch some television when a knock sounded on his apartment door. Thinking for a moment that it was Friday and not Thursday, Atem experienced a fleeting moment of panic in which he believed that it might be the someone arriving to pick him up for his date. He was only somewhat relieved to find out who it was, however, because on the other side of the door stood not one of Kaiba's employees, but a rather familiar face indeed.

**000000000**

"You're still awake?"

"Huh? Yeah. I have to finish that paper for English still."

"Oh."

Kisara sat on the edge of Mokuba's bed, watching him type away on the glowing computer screen even at the late hour.

"Should you really be here?" Mokuba asked, not looking away from the screen as he continued to work on his essay. "If one of the teachers catches you, we're both dead."

Kisara shrugged, pulling her long white hair out of her face and into a loose ponytail. She reached over and pulled a notebook out of her bag, borrowing one of Mokuba's textbooks and scribbling down answers to the assigned problems.

"It's all right, they won't catch us. The other girls are covering for me, and there weren't any teachers standing guard out in the boy's hallway anyways. How do you think I got here?"

"True," Mokuba said, pressing the save button just in case. "Almost done, just have to write the conclusion."

"Good, then you can help me with this. These last few questions are pretty tough."

"Is that the history?"

"Yeah."

"It's the yellow notebook in my bag, if you want. I can explain later."

"Thanks."

For twenty minutes, the only sounds in the room were those of Kisara's scribbling in her notebook and the clack of the keyboard as Mokuba finished his essay and finally sent the command to print the final copy.

"Finally," he muttered, pushing the keyboard away and stretching in his chair. "I'm so tired. I don't get how nii-sama could ever work such late nights."

"Hmm?"

"Oh. My brother works a lot. It's like his favorite hobby or something."

"That doesn't sound like much fun."

Mokuba shrugged, flipping the desk lamp on as he reached for his printed essay and then shut down the computer.

"I guess. Do you need me to explain those problems?"

"No, I think I got it. Where's your roommate?"

"You didn't know? He got pulled out of school for awhile, I guess his grandmother died or something."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah."

Kisara set the two notebooks and the textbook aside and folded her hands in her lap, blue eyes staring intently into gray.

"Mokuba?"

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking… you miss Japan, right? And I want to see the place where I was born."

"Right…."

"So what do you say we go over break, okay? It'll be fun."

Mokuba paused and considered.

"Let's do it."

"Perfect," Kisara said, smiling, "I'll meet you before home room tomorrow."

"Okay. Good night, Kisara."

"Yeah. You too."

Kisara shut the door quietly behind her and made her way back to the girl's dormitory. Mokuba leaned back in his computer chair and let out a sigh, staring at the ceiling.

_I wonder what nii-sama is doing right now…._

**000000000**

**First off**! A **pass-through **is the actual name for those half wall things that some people have in their kitchens. The wall extends from the floor to about waist height so that you can see over the top. Mostly they join kitchens to family or living rooms, and I have seen them commonly used as a way to pass food and plates over from the kitchen to those sitting in the living room watching television.

**Secondly**, Mokuba and Kisara attend a private boarding academy, in case you couldn't tell.

I apologize for the extreme abundance of dialogue in this chapter, and for the awful scene change after Atem answered his door.

Until next time,

Stellar Sundown 


	11. You Sure Know How To Pick Them

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

This chapter isn't what you're thinking.

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are bliss, and thank you SO much for all the favorites.**

**000000000**

"Hey, I was right! This _is_ your apartment!"

Atem stared at his visitor, jaw dropped and eyes wide for at least five minutes. An eyebrow arched and eyes narrowed, mouth stretching into a wide grin.

"Well, don't look so happy to see me," the visitor said, pushing his way past Atem and into the apartment. "Nice place you've got here."

"Not to be rude, or anything," Atem said, regaining his voice, "but what the _hell_ are you doing here?"

"Visiting my old buddy. What's wrong with that?"

"Whenever you come over, we end up staying up late and occasionally getting drunk. I have work in the morning…."

A tanned hand pushed back platinum blonde hair, revealing pale violet eyes that twinkled with amusement.

"Oh, don't worry. I won't keep you up too long."

"If you do, I'll just kick you out. Where's Ryou?"

**000000000**

"Ryou! I thought you wouldn't be here until the wedding!" Yugi cried, throwing his arms around his own unexpected visitor.

Ryou shrugged, giving a hug to his shorter friend.

"Malik and I were thinking about it, and we decided to come back for an extended vacation. Ishizu-san was a little against it at first, but she can manage without us for a few months."

"Is it really okay to leave Ishizu-san to do all that work herself?" Yugi questioned, letting Ryou in.

"She'll be fine. She's a strong woman, you know that," Ryou said with a smile.

As Ryou made his way into the kitchen, Yugi's gaze swept into the hallway and back again, somewhat puzzled as he shut the door.

"Malik isn't here with you?"

"No, he's not. We were getting ready to leave when he suddenly said there was somewhere else he wanted to go first. Which, now that I think about it, is probably not a very good thing. Oh dear."

Ryou smacked himself in the forehead and shook his head.

"How could I have been so stupid? He's probably off wreaking havoc!"

"Does he have his cell phone with him? You can use our phone, if you want," Yugi offered, holding out the cordless phone.

"Oh! Thank you," Ryou said, dialing his boyfriend's phone.

**000000000**

Atem had been forced into preparing some snacks when Malik's phone began playing the song 'Gay Boyfriend' by The Hazzards. Atem leaned over the pass-through and raised an eyebrow.

"Nice ringtone," he smirked, handing Malik the plate of food.

"Shut up," he muttered, flipping open the phone. "Ryouuuuuuuuuu… you're embarrassing me with this stupid ringtone."

"Oh, come now. It's… cute," Atem said, trying not to laugh as he reached for a cookie.

Malik only glared as he listened to his boyfriend on the other end of the call.

"Malik, where _are_ you? You're not destroying things, are you? Or annoying innocent people?"

"Only one person."

"Who!?"

"Who else? I'm with Mu-chan," Malik said, grinning when he saw Atem wince at the nickname.

"I was hoping that died when you left for Egypt," Atem muttered.

"Oh. Well, don't bother him too much," Ryou said, "Please. Yugi tells me he has a date tomorrow."

"Reeeeeally?" Malik's face spread into a wide and malicious grin. "That's so _very_ interesting."

"Don't cause any trouble… I mean it. And please come over soon."

"Oh, I will."

Malik replaced his cell phone in his pocket and turned to Atem, the same grin still on his face. Atem scooted away and gave him a wary look.

"What…?"

"Mu-chan has a _date_ tomorrow?"

"Oh god."

"I MUST MEET THIS MYSTERY MAN!"

"No way!" Atem paused. "Wait, who said it was a man?"

"Puhlease, Mu-chan. Look at yourself. It's _definitely_ a man."

Atem turned away, attempting to hide the traces of a blush on his face.

"You haven't told anyone, have you?"

"Just Anzu-chan…."

"Who's Anzu?"

"Yugi's fiancé. You got the wedding invitation and you don't even know that?"

"Hey, Ryou just told me, 'guess what! Yugi's getting married!' and left it at that. It's not _my_ fault."

Atem rolled his eyes and leaned back into his chair, munching on the last bit of his cookie as the television advertised a set of CDs. Malik sat forward and took a cookie for himself, falling into a silence for once after Atem didn't say anything in return. A game show came onto the screen, reflecting in the polished wooden surface of the coffee table.

"What have you been up to all this time, Mu-chan?" Malik asked.

"You know I hate that name," Atem said, sighing, "Nothing really, actually. Nothing nearly as exciting as jetting off to Egypt with my boyfriend and exploring old tombs and whatnot."

"That doesn't answer my question. Besides, I didn't explicitly mean work-wise."

Atem shrugged, reaching for the television remote and flipping through until he happened to catch a glance of Seto Kaiba giving an interview. A small smile came on his face and he gestured to the screen with the remote.

"You wanted to know who it was, right, Malik?"

Malik turned his eyes to the screen and dropped his cookie into his lap.

"_Damn_. You sure know how to pick them, don't you?"

"Don't let Ryou hear you say that," Atem said, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"I knew when you finally decided to date that you'd only go for the best, but _Seto Kaiba_? You've just gotten about half the world's population mad at you, I hope you know."

"Wait, you know him?"

"Who _doesn't_? Are you joking me, Temtem?"

"So it's Temtem now? And what do you mean, who doesn't know Seto Kaiba…."

"You really don't know? This guy is pretty much the richest man on the face of the earth. Not to mention, he's won about a million 'most eligible bachelor' and 'fifty sexiest men' competitions."

"Is he really that popular?"

"Temtem, you're so out of the loop I'm surprised you even have a television," Malik sighed, refraining from the urge to smack himself in the forehead.

**000000000**

It was several hours later when Ryou and Yugi ended up at Atem's apartment rather than Malik going to Yugi and Anzu's place. Ryou had called again to ask Malik to come over, but Atem persuaded them both into coming over instead. Yugi had agreed wholeheartedly when he realized that Anzu would probably be home soon from her grocery shopping and he really didn't want Malik to shock her with anything he might be compelled to do or say during his visit. He was trying very hard not to think about the fact that they were bound to meet sooner or later anyways. Yugi hoped very much that it was later. _Not that Anzu is weak or anything. Far from it_, he assured himself, _It's just that Malik can be rather crude._ When they walked through the door, Malik and Atem were on the floor with their backs resting against the couch and watching some news report featuring Seto Kaiba.

"Hey, isn't that Seto Kaiba?" Yugi asked. "The guy that Jou was talking about?"

"Jou?" Malik asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Friend of ours," Atem said, looking up to wave at Yugi and Ryou. "Have a seat, you two. The floor is awfully comfortable today."

"I'll use the couch, thank you," Yugi said, taking a seat on the end while Ryou sat in one of the armchairs that Malik and Atem had earlier vacated.

"And yes, it _is_ Seto Kaiba," Malik said as he moved over to rest against Ryou's legs instead of the couch. "Can you believe, Ryou, that Temtem did not know that Seto Kaiba was extremely well-known?"

"What? Really? Pretty much the whole world knows him," Ryou said, his fingers working their way absentmindedly into Malik's blonde hair.

"Yes, I've heard," Atem said with a sigh.

Yugi looked down at his brother, puzzlement etched across his face.

"What's with all this talk about Seto Kaiba?" he asked. "First Jou brings him up at lunch, and then suddenly you and Anzu are way closer. And then you have a mystery date? What's going on, Atem?"

"What do you mean?" Atem asked, turning away.

"Something's up, I know it. You can't hide it from me forever."

Atem shrugged, gazing resolutely at the television screen where Seto was frowning at a reporter. Yugi sighed and sank back into the couch cushions. Malik and Ryou exchanged glances, but didn't say a word.

**000000000**

Atem woke up feeling very uncomfortable. He sat up, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. Next to him was a spilled bowl of popcorn, along with several empty soda cans and an oddly peaceful-looking Malik. On the couch lay a familiar shock of hair, almost the mirror image of his own; on an armchair, the sleeping form of one Ryou Bakura. _What? Oh yeah, they came over, and then we ended up watching that movie after Seto's press conference…._ He yawned again, standing up and clearing away some of the food and trash. Crimson eyes flicked to the digital clock above the television and widened in shock. _I am so dead._ Trying not to wake the others, he ran into the bathroom and got ready for work in record time before throwing on his uniform. _They'll be fine if I just leave them here, I think._ He scribbled a quick note to the three sleepers and left it on the coffee table for them to find when they woke up. _That should do it_. With that, Atem grabbed his jacket and keys and left for work.

**000000000**

_I would have been better off staying at home today,_ Atem thought as he watched the second hand on the clock go around and around the circular face, _There's no one here today. So boring._ He rested his chin in his hands and stared at the people passing outside. A few people stopped to look inside, but didn't come in- none of them looked like they could afford anything the boutique offered. He briefly wondered if he should call and check up on the others- coming home to a destroyed apartment wasn't very high on his to-do list- but figured that with Yugi there, everything would be fine. Provided that Yugi didn't wake up first and go to work without making sure that Malik and Ryou left first. Not that Ryou would let Malik destroy his things, but sometimes Malik got out of hand. Especially if Ryou wasn't around. Or was sleeping. Atem groaned and laid his head down on the counter. _Today is going to be a _long _day._ The shop bell rang and he sat up immediately, hoping that whoever it was hadn't seen him slacking off, but it was only Kanagawa-san. She laughed as she made her way over to the counter.

"You shouldn't sleep on the job, Atem," she chided, and his face heated from embarrassment. "Now, you don't have anything to do today except mind the store, so would you mind if we closed up a bit early today? Why am I asking? Of course you wouldn't."

"Why are we closing early?" Atem asked, curious. Kanagawa-san was always closing the shop for some reason or another, it seemed.

"I'm going to a dinner show," she announced, "It's supposed to be absolutely fantastic. I can't wait!"

At the words 'dinner show', Atem's face paled considerably. _She couldn't mean…_

"Atem? Are you okay? You look deathly pale."

"By dinner show… you wouldn't happen to mean the one at The Crescent Blossom, would you?"

"Yes, that's the one. Why?"

"N-nothing," Atem said. "Just wondering."

"Well, all right then," she replied, but her eyes were somewhat suspicious. "I'll be in my office, as always. You're sure you're okay? Maybe you should go home and rest. I can manage the shop, it seems to be rather slow today."

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about me, Kanagawa-san."

"If you're sure," she said with a shrug before disappearing into her office in the back.

Atem slumped forward onto the counter once more.

"This is not good," he muttered, fogging up the glass.

**000000000**

I find it kind of funny that Word tells me to spell Ishizu as Isis.

Also, apparently I've lied about the Ryou/Malik pairing. I hadn't originally planned for them to show up yet, but I had a strong urge to bring them into the story. I also had a strong urge to make Malik this way… hahaha. It's amusing for me.

And, like I said, this chapter wasn't what you were expecting, was it? Oh, I'm so cruel. The date… that's for next time.

Also, I definitely don't own the song Gay Boyfriend. The Hazzards do. So look up the lyrics; it's much funnier if you know the song.


	12. Do Not Lie To Me

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Finally, the chapter you've all been waiting for… the date. Luckily, I've been able to get this done quickly because of my half day (tomorrow). Just think, if I didn't have this half day, you couldn't enjoy this chapter until the weekend! How terrible would _that_ be!?

**Thanks for reading! I could never thank you enough for your continuing support- two C2s, 11 favorites, 19 alerts, and 46 reviews!**

**000000000**

By the time six o'clock rolled around, Atem was nervous beyond belief. Kaiba-san's car would be here to pick him up in half an hour, and he didn't even have an outfit on to fuss over. No, even _that_ wouldn't be there until the car arrived. So, in order to keep himself busy and out of trouble, he was in the bathroom rearranging his hair about every five minutes- or sooner, if he didn't like it. In the end, it was the same as it had been when he started, and there was still about fifteen minutes left to wait.

"_Ugh_, this is so nerve-wracking," Atem sighed, slumping down into one of his armchairs.

Hoping to dispel his nerves, he turned on the television and flipped rapidly through the channels, looking to find something interesting to watch for fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, it was all either boring or commercials, so Atem just turned it off again. He pushed himself up out of the armchair and began to pace the kitchen. He was so engrossed in getting himself to calm down that when the doorbell rang, he jumped in fright. Crimson eyes darted to the stove clock. Six-thirty. Atem quickly made his way to the door, almost tripping over his own feet. He opened the door to find a man in a black suit and sunglasses, holding a bag.

"Good evening, Mutou-san. Master Kaiba requests that you change into the attire he has provided," the man said, holding the bag out for Atem to take. "It is required that you change quickly. You shall be meeting Master Kaiba at The Crescent Blossom in twenty minutes."

Atem nodded, his face having paled drastically from the time he had opened the door until the time that the man- _Suit Man, I'll call him­_- had finished talking. Suit Man waited in the hall as Atem closed his front door and disappeared into his room to change. He put on the clothes quickly, as told, not even stopping to see what he was putting on. Looking in the mirror he had on the back of his door, Atem gasped. Red eyes swooped down the reflective surface, taking in his own appearance. Seto Kaiba had an impeccable sense of style, that was for sure- and this was coming from someone who worked in a high-end fashion boutique! He was dressed from head to toe in a fine black suit that, when in the light, partially shone crimson to match his eyes. It had a smooth, comfortable feel, like air. _I wonder what this is_, Atem mused, _From the look of it, it's probably a Christian Dior._ A knock sounded on the door once more, and Atem took a glance at his clock as he made to leave his bedroom. _I've probably taken a little longer than Suit Man expected_, the Egyptian thought as he took his keys from the kitchen counter and exited his apartment, locking the door behind him.

"Right this way, sir," Suit Man said, leading Atem outside and into a rather expensive-looking car, sleek and elegant.

**000000000**

The Crescent Blossom was a beautiful establishment; it had been renovated recently and every surface seemed to sparkle. The outside was a rather plain but pretty color- the very hue of peach blossoms- illuminated by silvery lights that dotted the path to the door. Along either side of the path was a fragrant garden, not too full of plants but not too sparse either. Atem noticed that there were many people in line, enough even to wrap around the corner and out of sight, yet Suit Man was leading him directly past all of these people and up to the door. He was relieved that he hadn't seen Kanagawa-san yet, but also very nervous to be there at all. A man stopped them at the door.

"Reservations?"

"Kaiba Seto, seven p.m.," came a cool voice from behind.

Atem turned quickly and ungracefully, surprised at the sudden appearance of his date.

"Kaiba-san," he breathed.

If Atem's outfit was handsome, it was nothing compared to Seto's. He was dressed in a sharp navy suit with thin white pinstripes. His hair had been carefully mussed to cover his face in an attractive manner, yet still show the piercing blue eyes he had become famous for. All in all, he was gorgeous, no matter how Atem tried to deny it.

"Very well," the man said, "Your table is this way."

The man led them to a table near the stage where the dinner show would be taking place. Atem scanned the room, taken aback by the decorations. It was really quite lovely inside. Another door opened, and he saw Kanagawa-san walk in. Luckily for him, however, she was distracted by another host and not looking in his direction. He wondered what she would think if she saw him out at a place like this with Seto Kaiba. They were seated and the host left to take other people to their own tables. A waiter stopped by and handed them menus as he told them the specials of the night. Half of the dishes were in languages Atem couldn't understand, but the brunette seemed to understand fine enough- in fact, when the waiter was done giving the specials, Seto ordered one of them straightaway.

"And for you, sir?" the waiter asked, turning to Atem.

"The same," Seto cut in, handing the two menus straight back to the man, who nodded and went on his way.

"What are we eating?" Atem asked.

"Ratatouille," Seto replied, "A vegetable stew. It's rather good."

**000000000**

The dinner show was not scheduled to start until a bit later in the evening, so the pair had finished their meal and were now talking rather pleasantly. Well, Atem was talking and Seto was listening. Occasionally he would place some input or ask a question, but for the most part, the brunette merely listened intently.

"What about you, Kaiba-san? How is your work? Your family?"

Atem thought he saw Seto cringe at the mention of the word family, but didn't mention it.

"You really don't know that already?" Seto asked. "Most people seem to know about half of my personal details on their own. Of course, when I found out who leaked those details to the press, I fired them straightaway."

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Atem asked, taking a small sip of champagne.

"I do not find my personal life rather appealing, and thus I do not want other people to know things about me that I would rather keep a secret."

"So you found it a violation of your privacy," Atem confirmed, nodding slightly.

This wasn't the answer he had been expecting, but Atem was just glad that Seto seemed to have started talking about something.

"As for my work, it's the same as usual. Incompetent workers who mess up and I fire them, then having to do everything myself to ensure it's done correctly."

"And your family…?" Atem inquired, leaning a bit closer over the table.

"…Not around."

"Oh," Atem said, dropping the subject after seeing the look on Seto's face. It wasn't entirely angry, or entirely sad- somewhere between the two. He wondered what exactly had happened in the taller man's life to make him feel that way about his family. After all, Atem could hardly fathom life without his brother or Jiisan.

**000000000**

After that, Atem had tried other topics of conversation to get Seto to open up, but none really succeeded. He was about to give up and slump back into his chair when the lights of the restaurant began to dim. A man walked onto the stage and a spotlight illuminated his figure as he spoke into a microphone.

"Welcome, all of you, to _Evening Bloom_, a show we hope you will all enjoy. We thank The Crescent Blossom for allowing us to perform here tonight. And now, without further ado, I present to you the show…."

The man brought his arm around him in a wide swoop, bowing gently as he gestured to where the curtains were beginning to open. The light on him faded as he made his way off the stage. Instead, a silvery light shimmered down onto the stage where dancers were emerging from behind the still-retreating curtain. They circled around the edges and performed a complicated dance. _Anzu would enjoy this so much_, Atem thought, _I'll have to tell her about it later._ When the curtains had finally been drawn completely to the sides of the stage, a beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair walked into the center of the stage. Violet eyes seemed filled with sadness as she sat down on a bench, holding a small bunch of lilies to her nose.

"It was many years ago today," she began, "that I met you here."

**000000000**

The show turned out to be absolutely phenomenal, just as Anzu had predicted it would be. Atem was completely amazed to find the ghosts of tears in his eyes as the curtains closed and the lights slowly returned to normal. Seto was clapping appreciatively yet in a reserved manner, obviously impressed as well by the performance.

"That was amazing," Atem said as he clapped for the actors and dancers, who had come out on stage to bow.

"Indeed," Seto said, "It isn't often I see a performance so well done."

"Do you see many of these, then?"

"If it catches my interest, yes. Mostly theater performances, rather than dinner shows."

The waiter came out with a bottle of champagne and refilled their glasses before gliding over to the next table.

"Thank you for bringing me tonight, Kaiba-san. I'm having a wonderful time."

"Hn. I'm glad," Seto responded, picking up his champagne flute and taking a long sip.

Their calm silence was broken when Kanagawa-san appeared at their table, obviously having spotted her employee dining with none other than Seto Kaiba.

"Atem, fancy seeing you here! You didn't seem all that interested when I brought up the dinner show earlier."

"Kanagawa-san!" Atem said, giving off a nervous laugh and glancing in Seto's direction for- for what? for help?- and blue eyes flashed in understanding.

"Kanagawa-san, it's a pleasure to see you again," Seto said, flashing the woman one of his famous smiles. Atem suddenly had the strong impression of artificiality.

"Oh, Kaiba-san! It is always a pleasure to be in your company."

"I apologize if I come across rudely, Kanagawa-san, but Mutou-san and I are trying to enjoy a private evening. We would like very much for no interruptions," Seto smiled, but something dangerous stirred in his blue eyes.

"Y-yes, okay. I understand. I'll see you at work tomorrow, then?" Kanagawa-san asked Atem nervously, but left before he could give an answer.

Atem fidgeted in his seat under that look of Seto's, unnerved by the power behind those blue eyes. Seto only reclined gently in his chair and drained the rest of his champagne, replacing the empty flute on the table. The brunette's gaze flitted around the room and finally came to rest on Atem, infinitely gentler than before in some way. To others, those eyes stayed as hard as ice, but somehow Atem was able to sense a change. The Egyptian leaned forward over the table, reaching out with one hand to brush chocolate bangs out of ocean depths. Seto reached up and took Atem's hand, startling the shorter of the two into realizing just exactly what he was doing. A brown eyebrow arched in amusement as a tanned face was suddenly flushed with pink.

"I believe," Seto said, a smirk forming on his lips, "that _someone _has had a bit too much to drink tonight."

"Is that what you think?" Atem said, though in all honesty he couldn't remember exactly how many glasses of champagne he actually had consumed. "Because _I_ would say that I was merely trying to figure out how your eyes worked like that."

"How my eyes work?" Seto asked, truly confused by the other's statement.

"You see, for some reason those eyes are a mask to others, except when you deliberately let something slip. But you know, I can see right through them."

Seto dropped Atem's hand, eyes widening just a bit in horror. _It's a lie. I'm the only one who can ever know my emotions_, Seto tried to assure himself, _Just me._ From the back of his mind came another voice, one that sounded suspiciously like Mokuba's. _Is that really true, Seto?_

"Kaiba-san?" Atem asked, wondering what he had said to make the taller man react in such a way. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Seto said, turning his head away and standing up. "We're going now. I will take you home."

"Huh? Well, all right," Atem agreed, lifting himself from his chair.

**000000000**

The ride home was spent in a bit of an awkward silence. Seto did not accompany Atem to his door; rather, that post was filled by none other than Suit Man. Suit Man instructed Atem to keep the suit, that it was a gift from Kaiba-san. Atem went into his apartment and dropped the suit jacket onto one of the armchairs while kicking off his shoes.

"Hey, watch where you're throwing things," Malik grumbled, pushing the expensive jacket off of his face.

"Malik?" Atem asked, "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

The blonde held up a key.

"It's Yugi's spare. I borrowed it."

"Does he _know_ you borrowed it?"

"Nah, but it's all right. It's not like I'm never going to give it back, you know."

Atem sighed and dropped into the other armchair, staring up at the bleak expanse of white ceiling. Malik's expression turned from teasing to concerned in an instant.

"What happened? Something's wrong."

"What are you talking about? Nothing's wrong, Malik."

"Do not lie to me, Atem."

Atem blinked. Malik hadn't used his real name since shortly after the day they met, unless he was being extremely serious about something. The last time he could recall was when Malik had come over to tell Atem that he and Ryou were jetting off to Egypt to live together.

"…I'm not sure what happened," Atem said truthfully. "I was sure it was going okay, and then it just sort of… fell apart."

"I'll get the drinks out," Malik said, pushing himself out of the chair and making his way into the kitchen. "Tell me everything. We'll figure this out."

**000000000**

A sober ending for such an important chapter. This wasn't what everyone was expecting, I know, but we all have to remember that Seto has a fragile mind at times. Some things shake him considerably- he doesn't like to let his guard down to anyone.

I'm not actually sure if Christian Dior makes suits, let alone one that looks like the one Atem is wearing. I know they make men's blazers and women's suits, so they should make men's suits too, right? I hope for the sake of this fic that they do.

Also, can anyone guess who the actress was? It's not too hard.


	13. What Are You Trying To Tell Me?

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Okay so, I've noticed about a bazillion mistakes in the last chapter. Hahahaha. Oh well. And yes – it was Mai, for all those who guessed.

**Thanks for reading!**

**000000000**

It was well into the evening and Malik lay on the floor, strongly intoxicated. Atem was not much behind in the insobriety race, sprawled along the couch. The television was displaying a fine variety of the static at the end of VHS tapes, making a crackling noise that was barely noticeable to the two friends.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Malik drawled from his spot on the carpet. "That guy... he's led a secretive life. 'S probably got some secrets. Don't worry too much about it."

"You talk far too well for a drunk man," Atem commented, rolling over onto his stomach to peer down at the blonde.

"Same for yourself," Malik grinned, "'S a talent of ours, it is."

The blonde's phone went off, vibrating in his hand. He doubled over in laughter, tightening his grip on the electronic device.

"Hey, hey… feel this. It's funny," he sniggered, throwing the phone onto Atem's lower back, where it continued to vibrate.

"What the hell?" Atem asked, grabbing for the phone and missing it as it slipped off of him and into the space between the couch cushions. "Hey, where'd it go?"

"In the couch, I think," Malik asked, scratching his head. "It hurts to think."

"Then don't," Atem said with a decisive nod, which he immediately regretted. "Malik?"

"Hn?"

"You really think I didn't do anything wrong?" he asked, holding his head in pain.

"I know you didn't, Temtem," Malik assured, hiccupping as he reached up to pat Atem's shoulder.

The cell phone went off again, allowing Atem to find where it was hiding in the couch. He pulled it out with a triumphant smile and pried it open with difficulty- he was trying to open the hinge- and placed it to his ear.

"Hello, 's… hey Malik, isn't this _your_ phone?"

"I dunno," the blonde shrugged. "'S got my name on it?"

Before Atem could turn the phone to look for Malik's name, the caller got his attention.

"Atem! Have you two been drinking again?" Ryou's voice came, exasperated.

"Maybe," Atem said.

"Who is it?" Malik asked, reaching for the phone.

"'S your boyfriend," Atem said, handing Malik the phone before his face fell.

"Oh, don't," Malik said, then spoke into the device, "Ryou? I gotta call you back. We have an emergency over here."

The phone was switched off and set on the coffee table as Malik sat up, allowing himself a few moments to reorient his brain and vision. Crimson eyes glanced questioningly into a resolute purple gaze.

"There's something else to this," Malik said.

"What are you talking about?"

"There's something you didn't tell me. Something important. What exactly did you say before Kaiba became distant?"

**000000000**

Seto reclined in the driver's seat of the Aston Martin, closing his ice blue eyes and mulling the night's events over. The evening was progressing nicely, and he even managed to control himself when Atem brought up family. People around him knew he was still a little sore at Mokuba's departure, and of course they knew it was forbidden to mention the deceased Gozaburo, but how would Atem know that? The thing that really got to him, though, was when the Egyptian had told him he could see into his emotions. That simple statement wormed its way deep into his brain, intimidating him far more than it should. It unnerved him, debasing his sense of control over the world. Seto Kaiba had a desperate need to have that power, whether he realized it or not. The only person he yielded to was Mokuba, and even that was in private. Other people, he believed, would only look down on him for it. Eyelids slowly retreated and he tried to bore holes in the windshield with his glare, trying to understand exactly what was going on with him. No matter what, he couldn't blame Atem for what he had said. The other was merely making an observation and although he might do so with the mutt, Seto could not hold the crimson-eyed man accountable for- he paused to grit his teeth at the admittance- his own faults. The brunette hit the garage door remote with a little more force than necessary, causing the mechanism to spring to life. At the sight of the moving door, the guards at the mansion gate stood aside, pulling the gate with them. The path had been clear for barely a few seconds as Seto tore out of the driveway, leaving angry black burns on the surface as his tires screeched with his daredevil speed.

_I need to clear my head_.

Seto drove out of the city and onto a flat expanse of highway to the west, completely ignoring all signs and signals. He finally stopped on the top of a hill, looking down at the twinkling lights of the homes and businesses below. It was the western end of the city, and the brunette's piercing gaze swept over the urban landscape until it landed on a familiar set of buildings. Domino's West Villa. Seto stopped for a moment in shock, then began laughing as he looked up to the night sky above.

"What are you trying to tell me, huh?"

**000000000**

Morning dawned on the city of Domino, lighting up the sky with sunny yellows and rosy pinks as the sun slowly rose above the skyline. Light poured in through Atem's bedroom window and through his open door, flooding the living room with a soft golden glow. It penetrated any remaining shadows as it crept up along Atem's face, bathing his skin with a weak autumn warmth. His eyes flickered open and he groaned from the pounding headache that accompanied the sudden loss of sleep. A tanned hand came immediately to his forehead, trying to rub the pain away.

"Headache medicine _now_," he muttered, slowly getting up from the couch and nearly stepping on Malik as he made his way to the bathroom.

Atem searched through the medicine cabinet, finally locating his prize- a bottle of painkillers. Shaking a few into his hand, he dry-swallowed them before pocketing the bottle. Malik would be up soon and he was going to need them as well, no doubt about it. _Unless, of course, he's built up some kind of strange resistance to alcohol in the time he's been out of the country. Highly doubtful._ The sun was up now, banishing the traces of pink from the sky, but it was the weird kind of sunny that characterized autumn and winter. Atem went into his bedroom to change and glanced out the window. His apartment was at the back of the West Villa complexes, looking out at scenic hills rather than the other two complexes or the city of Domino. A car was perched at the top of one of the hills. _Who stops at the top of a hill? There's going to be through traffic soon and they're going to cause an accident,_ Atem frowned, opening his window and leaning out of it trying to see better, but to no avail. He sighed, turning from the window and pulling off the suit he'd fallen asleep in, frowning deeply at the creases sleep had made in the expensive material.

"Of course, I am the only one who could wear such an expensive suit so casually," he muttered, folding it carefully and dumping it in the laundry hamper. He would retrieve the jacket later- Malik had been using it as a makeshift blanket.

Blonde bangs fell into his eyes as he bent down and grabbed a fresh set of work clothes from his dresser and pulled them on with a yawn. His headache was still raging full force. _Can't this medicine work any faster? Damn, it hurts to think._ After changing, Atem went back into the living room and gently shook Malik awake. The blonde sat up with a jolt, knocking Atem backwards onto the floor.

"Damn, that hurt," Atem glared, tossing the bottle of painkillers to Malik with a little more force than necessary.

"Sorry, Temtem," Malik grinned, then clutched his head in pain as the energy it took to smile shot through his nerves. "Man, I hate hangovers."

"Join the club. We have jackets," Atem said, leaning back against the foot of the couch. "I have to go to work soon."

"I should get back to Ryou. I think he was pretty pissed off when he called. Not entirely positive on that one… we were kinda blasted by that point."

"Depends on how you define 'blasted'… I don't think proper grammar usage counts as blasted."

"We're talented, that's all," Malik said with a shrug, downing some of the pills himself and setting the container on the coffee table.

Atem pushed himself off the floor and into the kitchen, feet padding in a rhythmic pattern.

"You want something for breakfast, or are you just going to go home?"

"Think I'll go back home," Malik said, yawning.

"Be careful then, there's some car parked on the hill back there. Don't know why, but who honestly parks on a hill at dawn?"

"Yeah, all right. I'll keep that in mind," the blonde said, slipping on his shoes and jacket.

"Call me later. We'll go out for dinner or something," Atem said, plunging a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "Ryou too."

Malik gave the thumbs up sign in response as he opened the door, leaving the apartment building. Atem sat on the tabletop and ate his cereal in silence before finishing his morning ritual of getting ready for work. As he got ready to lock up the apartment, the Egyptian's stomach began to twist into knots. Seto had been distant to Kanagawa-san last night, and he wasn't sure how she would respond to those actions when she saw Atem. _She wouldn't take it out on _me_, would she?_ _I hope not._ Atem turned the key in the lock and slipped his keys into his pocket. As he got into his battered old car, he took one last look up at the hills. The car, whomever it belonged to, was gone.

**000000000**

"Mokuba Kaiba!"

Mokuba froze in his seat, looking up from the math homework he had been doing as the history teacher droned on and on about something- he couldn't recall exactly what- and shoving it under his notebook, ripping the sheet accidentally as he did so. _Damn._

"Mokuba, just _what _are you doing during my lesson?"

"Taking notes," he lied.

"Let me see them," the teacher, an older woman with graying hair and glasses, commanded, holding out her hand for the paper.

_Busted_, Mokuba thought, resignedly holding out the torn paper to the teacher. She frowned and further ripped the paper apart, tossing it into the wastebasket near her desk.

"You should know better than to procrastinate and then do your homework in other classes, Mokuba," she said in a stern voice.

"Yes, ma'am," he sighed, slumping down in his seat.

Across the room, Kisara sent the mop-haired teen a sympathetic as well as apologetic glance. It was her fault that Mokuba hadn't been able to finish his math homework. He had just been sitting down to do it when she snuck into the boys' dorms to ask for some science help. He caught her gaze and shook his head a fraction of an inch to each side.

'It's not your fault,' he mouthed, 'don't worry about it.'

She gave an uneasy frown, but turned her attention back to the front of the classroom, where the teacher had gone back to giving her lecture on god only knew what. Mokuba really wanted to go back to doing his math, especially now that he had to start over from scratch, but he knew that the teacher's eyes would be on him until the end of the hour. Instead, he stared ahead blankly, pretending to pay attention but really focusing on something much more important: Mission: Japan. It had been Kisara's idea to give their trip a name; she said that it made it much more exciting. In a way, she was right- Mokuba was more pumped up about the whole idea somehow. Near the end of the class, the white-haired girl caught his eyes again.

'T-minus twenty-six days, twelve hours, thirty-five minutes,' she mouthed, and Mokuba gave a genuine smile.

**000000000**

I'm not particularly pleased with the beginning of this chapter. It was awkward to write and I had to reword it too many times to count, so if it comes off strangely, that's why.

Something funny: Today in school we were talking about the automobiles of the 1920's, and so of course it came up that Henry Ford built the Model T assembly line. Well, then it came up that Ford sold the Aston Martin unit, which led to me thinking about this fic and deciding how to start this chapter. The world works in strange ways sometimes.

**Requesting assistance: **I need a last name for Kisara! Any ideas?


	14. For Their Shortcomings

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Thank you for all of your suggestions on Kisara's last name- I'm still thinking about it. If you come up with anymore you'd like to share (preferably Japanese, Kisara _is_ originally from Japan in this fic, just like Mokuba – I apologize for not specifying last chapter), please leave it in a review or send it in a PM.

**Thanks for reading! Your reviews spark my inspiration.**

**000000000**

Three days had passed, and Atem hadn't seen or heard from Seto. _I screwed up_, he sighed, opening some boxes that had come bearing ordered outfits. He pulled out the top bag of clothing; a black dress that needed some severe alterations to properly fit the slim woman that was planning on purchasing it. _No matter what Malik says, I had some part in this. If only I could have shut up._ He slipped the standard-sized garment over a mannequin and pulled out an alteration kit, checking the measurements he had scribbled on a piece of paper. Carefully measuring the fabric, he stuck pins into the dress at even intervals and began to make the alterations on the sleeves and waist. It was a painstaking process, taking a lot of time and care. When he was finished with the waist, it had already been an hour. _Does it really take so long for just one part? I still have to do the sleeves,_ the Egyptian mentally groaned. He became so absorbed in his work that he didn't realize the shop phone was ringing. Kanagawa-san stepped out of her office with a frown on her face, tapping her foot.

"Look, I understand that you're busy, but can't you even pick up the phone when it rings?"

"What?" Atem asked, looking up from the work he was doing.

"The phone. It's been ringing for who knows how long."

"Oh! I'm sorry, Kanagawa-san," he said, sticking the tip of his needle into the fabric for safekeeping as he dialed the answering machine of the work line.

Kanagawa-san watched as he waited for the voicemail to come on before going back into her office. Atem punched in the necessary pass codes for the voicemail and groaned as he realized that the phone call had been from the warehouse- apparently there was an emergency.

"Kanagawa-san, I'm going to the warehouse to pick some things up," he called, seeing her nod as she worked on her computer.

"Take my car," she said, "yours looks like it's about to break down."

"It probably is," he replied, catching her keys as she tossed them, "It's so old."

She laughed, waving her hand at him in a dismissive motion.

"Just be careful. If you crash it, you're paying for it."

"I know. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Tri-colored hair disappeared through the door as Kanagawa-san stopped her work and pushed back from her desk with a sigh. Her eyes lingered on the mannequin where the black dress hung half-finished. With a hesitant motion, she pushed herself out of her chair and made her way over to the workbench, picking up the needle and finishing the alterations.

**000000000**

Atem pulled into the large parking lot of the warehouse where shipments arrived in from time to time for the boutique. They shared the warehouse with a few other stores in the same plaza as well as some other companies, so he wasn't surprised to see some workers from the other shops carrying boxes into their cars. He brushed blonde bangs out of his eyes as he made his way up to the door and went inside, heading over to the section that was reserved for the Louis Vuitton boutique. The man in charge of the department grabbed a large box and handed it to Atem, apologizing profusely for forgetting to send it to the shop with the other boxes. Atem shook his head and thanked the man, heading back to the car with the large box obstructing his view. He was almost there when he ran into something and fell backwards, dropping the box onto the pavement. Looking down from the fall, he noticed that the other had taken a tumble as well; a pair of legs was directly in his line of vision.

"Watch where you're going next time!" a sharp voice barked.

"I'm so sorry," he said, rubbing the elbow that he fell onto.

The other person stood up and brushed themselves off somewhat irritably; dirt from the parking lot was now all over previously spotless black dress pants. Atem's box was several feet to his right, the tape having broken open. Fabric was peeking out from the flaps, having been jarred from its position from the fall. Atem looked up and immediately blushed with embarrassment. He had run into none other than Seto Kaiba, who was currently retrieving the briefcase that had skid across the parking lot and nearly under someone's car.

"I don't need your apologies," he said coldly.

His tone stung Atem, who stopped halfway through repacking his box. Seto turned around to give a sneering glare at his assailant, but froze when he noticed that it was none other than Atem who sat on the ground. The brunette turned his head nervously and extended a hand to the shorter man. Atem hesitantly took it and was immediately pulled to his feet, clutching the box close to his chest.

"I…."

"Don't worry about it," Atem said, voice distant as he unlocked Kanagawa-san's car and placed the box in the back seat, fully intent on leaving before Seto could have another say in the matter.

Atem was climbing into the driver's seat and closing the door when a strong grip kept it open. Seto's face gazed at him from outside the car, eyes showing something between fear, confusion, and apology. Atem sighed, removing his hand from the ignition and looked up at the brunette expectantly. Seto glanced away briefly and took a breath before turning back to the other.

"I apologize. If I had known it was you, then I-"

"So if it was anyone else, you would have just treated them like dirt? I can't respect that, Kaiba-san," Atem said, turning back to the dashboard. "I have to get back to work, so if you'll please let me shut the door…."

"No," Seto said with a sudden force that surprised both of them, "I have to say something to you."

"Well?" Atem asked, tapping his foot on the dead pedal impatiently.

"I am not… a very open person. I… lash out easily," Seto said, wondering why he was even saying this in the first place to anyone other than Mokuba. "Or I might close up. So, I'm sorry."

Atem paused, processing this information before responding in a calm manner.

"I'll forgive you if you try to fix it. The lashing out, I mean. No one deserves that for simple mistakes, Kaiba-san. Or for their shortcomings. Everyone is just trying their hardest to survive; they don't need others grinding them into the dirt. Now, Kanagawa-san is going to wonder if I don't get back."

Seto let go of the door and stepped back, letting the Egyptian shut the car door and reverse out of the parking space. He stopped at the end of the driveway and looked back, giving Seto a hesitant smile in the rearview mirror. Seto watched him go and pushed a hand through his hair, wondering about what he'd said. _I need some caffeine. I'm spouting off nonsense that could probably be used against me._

**000000000**

Atem entered the shop again, box in hand. He set it down on an empty table in the staff room before returning to his workbench, only to find the alterations on the dress complete. Next to the neatly folded dress was another outfit, also completed- it had only needed some minor changes. He smiled as he pulled out the next bit of fabric and draped it over the mannequin, checking the measurements on his paper.

"Thank you, Kanagawa-san," he called, just loud enough for her to hear in her office.

The woman didn't respond in words, only with a smile hidden behind the closed door.

**000000000**

Anzu appeared in the doorway of Atem's apartment later that evening, bearing a plate of food and a fresh bunch of flowers to brighten the kitchen. She set the plate down on the table and threw out the flowers in the vase, replacing them with the new ones. Atem stepped out of the bathroom, yawning loudly when he spotted her there.

"Anzu! I didn't know you were coming over."

"I just thought I'd stop by. You didn't eat yet, did you? I brought food."

"Oh, thanks. I was just about to grab something," he said, taking the plate and heating it in the microwave for a few seconds so that it would be hot instead of lukewarm.

Anzu took a seat at the table as Atem stood, waiting for the microwave to beep.

"You haven't been over in a few days. I was becoming accustomed to your constant presence," Anzu said.

"Oh, well, I'm sure that Yugi has told you that Ryou and Malik came in from Egypt? I've been spending some time with them. A lot has gone on since I last saw them."

"That's understandable," she said, "but it does not excuse you from neglecting to tell me about your date."

Sapphire eyes flashed with excitement as Atem sighed and sat down to eat.

"It really wasn't that great," he said, "Well, I mean, it was going fine at first. The dinner was good, the show was _amazing_- I'll tell you more later- but then all of the sudden it turned awkward. I saw him today, though."

"Oh my! What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Atem said, getting a little sick of relaying the story over and over. He didn't mind, though; after all, Anzu was only concerned for his happiness.

"That's too bad," she sighed, the sparkle in her eyes dying down a bit. "Is the food good?"

"It always is, Anzu. Sometimes I wonder why you don't get a job as a chef."

"Dancing will always be my priority! Even if I'm taking a break right now." She paused, hesitating over her words. "I don't know if I'm going to go back, actually."

"What?" Atem nearly choked, coughing to free a piece of fish caught in his throat, "Why not?"

"I like the way my life is now. I want to be a mother, and I can't have all my time taken up by dancing."

"It wouldn't be. Besides, you know there's so many people around to help if you need it."

"I don't want to depend on my friends anymore than I need to," Anzu sighed, "I was thinking last night. I'm getting married. I want to devote myself to that lifestyle."

"Not too long ago you wanted to devote yourself to dancing." Atem took another bite and stared her straight in the eyes. "I won't fight you, Anzu, because it's not my place or my decision. But I have to ask you, is this really what you want?"

Anzu gave a half-smile as her own question was thrown back at her.

**000000000**

Seto sank back into the computer chair behind his work desk and turned it around, looking out the wall of windows and out across Domino. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky with splashes of color. Lights were becoming visible on buildings and cars, preparing for the darkness that would soon cloak the city. There was a buzzing as his secretary pressed the intercom.

"Mister Kaiba, sir, you have a call on line six from Haraguchi-san concerning the development of your new system."

Seto frowned. Haraguchi-san was an arrogant man with no substance- in other words, all bark and no bite. He was considering telling him so, snarling something rude, or just hanging up, but then Atem's face floated into his mind.

'_No one deserves that for simple mistakes, Kaiba-san. Or for their shortcomings.'_

The brunette gritted his teeth and picked up the phone, pressing the flashing button for line six.

"Kaiba," he said into the phone.

**000000000**

I'm running into a block with this. Expect updates to possibly be slower while I work things out. Target date for Chapter 15: Sunday, March 31st.

In other news… Seto is starting to make some changes – cue the 'growth period' of the fic.


	15. Actions Speak Louder Than Words

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Sooner than expected. The next chapter should also take place during this timeframe… or at least the first part of it.

**Thanks for reading! **

**000000000**

Anzu filled the bathtub to the brim with steaming hot water, letting fragrant soap petals dissolve as she lowered herself into the water. She let the hot liquid envelop her and let out a content sigh. The brunette was all alone for the time being; Yugi had gone out with Jou and Atem after work and although she herself wasn't working at the moment, she had had a stressful day. First there was a strange amount of traffic, then there were no more jars of the good pasta sauce at the supermarket, and then her favorite tea cup broke. On top of that, she was worrying about the wedding; it was coming ever closer, and she was getting nervous. _Not that I don't love Yugi_, she sighed, _it's just a large change in my life. I'll be saying goodbye to Mazaki Anzu, and hello to a new side of me. _Her hair darkened quickly to a near-black shade as she sank further into the water, relaxing as its warmth traveled up her neck and the base of her head. There was one more thing on her mind, and it nagged at her until a headache started forming.

'_I won't fight you, Anzu, because it's not my place or my decision. But I have to ask you, is this really what you want?_'

Anzu really wanted to become a housewife. She had always dreamt of being a mother, having a happy family, and spending time cleaning, cooking, and talking to her friends. However, she also really wanted to dance. Dancing was as much a part of her as her desire to have a happy, comfortable lifestyle. Did she really have to give one up to achieve the other? After high school, Anzu had enrolled in a famous dance academy in America and stayed there for a year. She had planned to stay longer, but then she had come back on break and gotten engaged. When it was time for her to return, she had ended up not going and just moving in with Yugi. Sometimes she regretted it, but most of the time she was happy with her life. Twinkling sapphire eyes slid shut as she raised herself back into a sitting position, shivering a bit as her wet skin hit colder air. _I don't have to give up dancing_, she thought suddenly, _There are plenty of opportunities in Domino. I could even become a dance instructor. Yes, that's it. I _don't _have to choose after all._

"Thank you, Atem," she whispered to the empty room around her, "I'm so glad I met you and Yugi."

**000000000**

Shizuka frowned, staring at a poster on the supermarket window advertising _Evening Bloom_, the dinner show that was being performed at The Crescent Blossom. The actress in the poster looked familiar to her somehow. _I have definitely seen this woman before_, Shizuka thought, her eyes focusing on voluminous blonde hair and alluring violet eyes. _Oh well. No use dwelling on it… it's starting to get chilly out here. Maybe she was in a movie or something. I'll ask Jou la- that's it!_ Shizuka controlled the urge to pump her fist in the air in a victory move, suddenly remembering just where she'd seen this actress before. The blonde woman- _Kujaku Mai, I think-_ had recently become Jou's celebrity crush after appearing in a movie series he liked, as well as on one of the television shows he watched.

"I wonder if Jou knows that she's in town," the red-head mused, "He'd probably flip."

**000000000**

Jou _did_ know that Mai was in town. In fact, the blonde actress was currently two tables away from where he sat with Yugi and Atem. Yugi was talking about something, but Jou didn't hear a word. He was too busy staring in shock at his celebrity crush, the pretty and popular star of _Evening Bloom_, which Atem had apparently seen on his date. _Lucky bastard._

"Listen, Jou, if you're not going to pay attention then why don't you just go and talk to that woman? Obviously you're attracted to her," Yugi said somewhat irritably when he finally realized that the blonde's attention was elsewhere.

"W-what!?" Jou asked, gulping, "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Atem asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's _Kujaku Mai!_" Jou exclaimed, as if that made everything obvious.

"Kujaku…? Oh, that actress you're in love with!" Yugi said loudly, making several people nearby turn and stare.

"Keep it down, Yug!" Jou muttered embarrassedly. "She'll hear ya!"

"I believe that was the point," Atem said calmly, nodding his head to where the actress sat, having turned curiously in their direction.

Jou's face flushed crimson as the blonde smiled over at their table and gave a small wave. Yugi grinned.

"See, Jou? Just go talk to her, okay?"

"Wha… buh… okay," he said, as the two brothers pushed him out of the booth and over in her direction.

**000000000**

Yugi was staring horrorstruck at his drunken buddy while Atem attempted to haul Jou up the steps of his apartment building. Mai was in the background, biting her lip. After they'd shoved Jou over to Mai's table, the two blondes had had a good time- except for the fact that Jou was so nervous that he'd downed several drinks in quick succession. Several _strong_ drinks. Those drinks had ultimately led to the current situation; Jou was close to being unconscious, so Atem had offered to carry him home. Mai felt somewhat responsible since she had ordered all the drinks, so she came along with the trio. Yugi snapped out of it long enough to knock on the door. A sleepy Shizuka answered it.

"Yugi…? What's… oh! Katsuya!" Shizuka cried, helping Atem drag her drunken brother into his bedroom.

Mai looked questioningly at the red-head, who had gone from half-asleep to full-on pep mode in less than two seconds.

"Jou's little sister, Shizuka," Yugi supplied, digging out a snack and a water bottle from the fridge and grabbing a bottle of painkillers from the bathroom.

"Ah."

Yugi placed the items he was carrying on Jou's bedside table so that the blonde could access them as soon as he awoke. The trio knew from experience that Jou had particularly bad hangovers, and so avoided drinking as much as possible. Shizuka was tucking her big brother, who had finally passed out, into bed. Atem was slouched in a chair in the corner, catching his breath. For someone who looked slim, Jou sure was heavy.

"We should have brought a car," Atem breathed, "That was hard work."

"It's late, too," Yugi sighed. "Kujaku-san, are you okay going home by yourself?"

"Oh, I'll be fine. I'll call someone to pick me up."

"You can use our phone," Shizuka said, disappearing into the other room to grab the cordless for the blonde.

"I think I'm just going to stay here," Yugi yawned, pulling out his cell phone and dialing his apartment. "You going to stay too, Atem?"

"Nah, I'll go home. I've got work in the morning and none of my things."

"All right," the shorter of the two said, "be careful."

"I will. I'm going, Shizuka!" Atem called, making his way back to the front door.

"Goodnight," she said, returning to Jou's bedroom with the cordless.

Atem was exiting the apartment complex when a familiar-looking car zipped by, leaving him shocked by the sudden air turbulence the vehicle created. It was going far over the speed limit for this part of the city, and Atem thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't been any closer. The car had passed around a corner, then it abruptly appeared again from another street before stopping next to where he was walking. The driver's seat window rolled down to reveal a very familiar face.

"What are you doing out walking alone so late?"

"Dropping Jou off," Atem said, continuing his journey before Seto could come back with a rude comment about how Jou was a mutt. The Egyptian had heard some of the 'horror stories' from his blonde friend.

Seto rolled his eyes, biting back the comment that the other had known was coming. He put the car in drive, inching along at a slow pace even to Atem's. Atem glanced at the car and realized why he knew it- it was the Aston Martin. _Impressive speed, _he found himself thinking. _Well. When he's actually going _fast_, that is._ Red eyes darted away from the vehicle and he crossed his arms, stopping. The Aston Martin stopped as well.

"What are you doing, stalking me?"

"Get in."

"What?"

"I said, get in. I'll take you home."

"I'm perfectly capable of walking myself home, you know."

"I'm sure you are," the brunette said sincerely, "Get in."

Atem groaned, covering up the urge to smack himself in the forehead by brushing a tanned hand through tri-colored locks. He hesitated for a moment, feeling those ice blue eyes concentrate on his every move.

"…Fine. You can take me home," Atem conceded, "but this doesn't mean that I forgive you yet. Understood?"

"Whatever you say," the brunette said, opening the passenger side door, "Just remember that actions speak louder than words."

Atem froze for a moment before sliding into the car, shutting the door beside him. Seto flinched a bit as it made a slamming noise.

"Sorry," Atem said, buckling his seatbelt, "I have this habit of closing doors a little too forcefully…."

"It's fine," Seto gritted out from between clenched teeth.

"It's not, obviously," Atem said, concerned that Seto might either start shouting or clam up again.

"It's fine," Seto said again, this time in a normal tone.

The brunette stepped on the gas, driving to the West Villa at a high speed, but not quite as fast as earlier. He was slowing the vehicle down to turn into the complex when Atem touched his shoulder lightly.

"If you don't mind," Atem asked, somewhat hesitantly, "I'd rather not go home just yet."

"Fine by me," Seto said, pressing the accelerator once more and heading out to the hills behind Domino.

**000000000**

Mokuba sat at his desk, Kisara beside him on his bed. It was the middle of the afternoon, and they hadn't had much homework lately. Although the younger Kaiba was planning on surprising his nii-sama with a visit, he still wanted to make sure that his brother would indeed be home during that time. _It would be a fine thing to go all the way there and then find out that Nii-sama is off on some business trip or something_, Mokuba thought. His cell phone was pressed to his ear as he listened to the endless ringing of the line at the Kaiba Mansion. _Seto was right, the staff really is lazy. You can't count on anyone but yourself to take your calls these days._ The teenager really would have preferred to call his brother directly, but knowing Seto, the brunette would instantly become suspicious and question Mokuba until he divulged the surprise. The raven-haired teen _really_ didn't want that to happen. Kisara watched Mokuba expectantly, twisting her hair into two long snow-white braids. Mokuba closed his cell phone with a sigh.

"No one's answering," he said, "and I don't know why. There should be a ton of staff at the house, even if it's late in Japan."

"Maybe your brother gave them the day off?"

"Unlikely," Mokuba sighed, setting his phone back on his desk. "Oh well, we'll just try again tomorrow morning. That should be a good time for them."

"What if your brother answers?" Kisara asked.

"I'll call the staff line. Seto won't answer it," Mokuba assured his friend.

**000000000**

Anzu stretched out on her bed, cup of tea in hand as she flipped through the television channels before deciding on a late-night movie she'd seen before. The answering machine button blinked on the bedside table. _The phone must have rang while I was making the tea,_ Anzu thought, reaching over and pressing the button.

"Hey, it's Yugi. Jou got pretty drunk, so I'm staying over here to make sure he's all right when he wakes up. I'll be home in the morning, so don't worry. Sweet dreams, Anzu."

The brunette smiled and deleted the message, making herself comfortable between the sheets.

"Sweet dreams to you too, Yugi," she said, sipping her tea and turning her attention to the movie playing on the television screen.

**000000000**

The good thing about having a lot of characters present in your fic: Lots of different opportunities should you run out of ideas for someone.

The bad thing about having a lot of characters present in your fic: Lots of different situations to tie up in the end.

I also wanted to do a funny scene with Jou and Mai while they were still _at_ the bar, but… it just wasn't coming to me.

Expected update schedule: Sundays 

HOWEVER… spring break is coming up very soon and I'll have a bit more time.


	16. If This Is What It Gets Me

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

I tried to start this Thursday, but I had to do a bunch of homework and sit my driver's written exam. Oh well, it's here now. Plus, I have my driver's permit!

Updates may not be as regular as I anticipated… we're entering Research Season at my tech school (as mentioned briefly above), so I'm going to be on a very hectic schedule until the end of May. Boo.

**Thanks for reading! Reviews brighten my day.**

**000000000**

Atem sat completely relaxed in his seat, letting the speed and direction of the car move him where it willed; beside him, Seto drove silently, blue eyes occasionally flicking over to his passenger. The Egyptian pushed his blonde bangs back, threading tanned fingers into vibrant locks of hair. Atem didn't know where they were, exactly, only that it was dark out and there was no sign of Domino in sight. Normally, this probably would have unnerved him a great bit, being out in the middle of nowhere with someone he barely knew. However, the atmosphere in the car was comfortable, and he didn't want to leave. It was also late, and Atem was tired- his eyelids were beginning to droop and he began to slip into a more introspective mood. They must have been getting closer to some sort of civilization, because a stop sign appeared on the right side of the road, flashing briefly beside Atem's window as Seto disregarded the traffic laws and continued to speed on down the endless expanse of pavement.

"Shouldn't you have stopped?" Atem heard his voice ask at least five minutes after the fact.

"Did you want to stop?" Seto responded, slowing briefly to turn his head away from the road and towards the other.

Atem didn't answer at first, only reached over and gently laid his hand on Seto's shoulder for a moment. He then recoiled, replacing his hand in his lap. The shorter man turned his head toward the window, half-seeing the darkness outside and half-seeing his own reflection, crimson eyes vibrant against the dark backdrop that was the night sky.

"Not particularly. But we have to stop sometime, don't we? It's not like we could keep driving forever."

"Can't we?"

"It's impossible, Kaiba-san. Eventually something will happen and we'll stop, whether we want to or not."

Another stop sign came up on the right, and again the brunette passed by it with little thought.

"What are you trying to prove?"

"I don't know. I don't even know what I was trying to accomplish by not going home. I think- maybe- oh, I don't know." _Everything seems so different when you're going over a hundred miles an hour._

"Are you sure it's not the sleep talking?" Seto asked, a small trace of amusement in his tone as he listened to Atem babble.

"I'm _fine_," Atem insisted before his hand came up to stifle a yawn. "I guess what I was trying to say is that no one can run forever. Eventually things come screeching to a halt. Then you pick up the pieces and continue on."

Seto went to reply to the other when he realized the Egyptian had fallen into a slumber, draped along the door with his face pressed against the cool glass of the window. The road up ahead forked in two directions: to the left, the highway continued on; to the right, the highway led back to Domino. For a fleeting moment Seto didn't know what to do, where to go- _If I go left, I'll have no reason to stop… but if I go right_- then the moment passed and he slowed, turning into the deceleration lane and back towards the lights of the city.

**000000000**

It was too early in the morning; that was for sure. As the Aston Martin pulled into the parking lot of West Villa, the various clocks of the other tenants were showing a time around three a.m., not that any of them knew that. If they were smart, they were in bed enjoying a good night's sleep. Seto was in the process of unbuckling his seatbelt when he realized he didn't know where Atem's key was. Let alone how he was going to get the sleeping Egyptian inside without waking him up. _Shit. Seto Kaiba has his first blank in awhile, and _this _is the time it has to happen?_ The brunette sighed and pushed his hair back irritably, re-buckling himself up and switching the ignition on once more. This time, however, the Aston Martin drove the speed limit- the first time ever.

**000000000**

Kaiba pulled into the drive of the mansion at such a slow pace for him that at first, the garage employees and security didn't believe it was truly him. The young billionaire glared at them as he parked in the garage, pocketing his keys. He rounded the car and opened the passenger door.

"Get a guest room ready for this man," he ordered, and one of the security men walked off at a brisk pace to the mansion to alert the house staff.

Seto unbuckled Atem's seatbelt, very gently moving the other to make sure he wasn't going to wake up, then picked him up. The garage staff stared somewhat incredulously; Master Kaiba hadn't shown such care to anyone except for Mokuba-sama, and even then it had been awhile since the younger Kaiba had gone off to study abroad in America. Atem was heavier than he looked; Seto found this out the hard way once he had gotten the other fully out of the Aston Martin and closed the door. Knocking the door shut had thrown him off balance, and he shot out an arm to steady himself, nearly dropping the shorter as he did so. Luckily, he caught both of them in time and Atem remained sleeping as they entered the mansion.

**000000000**

Less than four hours later, the sun began to stream through the high windows of the Kaiba Mansion, spilling bright light throughout the rooms and corridors. Atem scrunched up his face in sleep, trying to avoid the calling of the day to wake up. It was then that he woke up anyways, realizing that the sun was much too bright for this to be his room. Besides, this bed was bigger than his. _And softer_, Atem thought, pressing his hand gently into the mattress. Crimson eyes opened, taking in their surroundings. _Yeah. Definitely not my room_, the Egyptian confirmed upon taking a brief look around. While his walls were a boring white, these were papered with white, navy blue, and royal gold striped wallpaper, with ornate moldings and furniture to match. He sat up among navy blue sheets and white and gold pillows, rubbing the sleep from his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Where am I?" Atem wondered, before remembering that he had been out with Kaiba the night before. _Kaiba-san's house…?_

He was about to slide out of the bed and explore the house when there was a knock on the door.

"Um… yes?" Atem asked, feeling a little awkward.

The door opened and a young maid appeared in the doorway, face relieved to find that Atem was awake and that she hadn't woken him up after all. She looked vaguely familiar to Atem, with short brown hair and a pretty face.

"Master Kaiba requests that you meet him for breakfast in thirty minutes, sir," the maid said, and then it hit Atem.

"You look like someone I know," Atem said before she could leave, "Do you know a Kanagawa Yukino?"

The maid looked startled, but nodded. "She is my cousin, sir."

With this, she gave a slight curtsy and disappeared from sight, gently shutting the door behind her. Atem grinned. _I'll have to tell Kanagawa-san about this._ He slipped out of the bed to find that sometime during the night he had been changed, and his face flushed red as he wondered who exactly was the one to do that. _I really don't want to know, I don't want to know, I don't want to know_, Atem repeated in his head, looking around again before spotting his clothes on a white wicker chair, seemingly freshly laundered from the faint scent of detergent in the air around them. He picked them up and changed quickly, noticing another door in the wall. He stepped over to it and cautiously pushed it open to find a bathroom. Atem flipped on the light switch and made his way over to the sink, washing his face and pulling a brush through his hair to tidy it up a bit. _I just hope that no one calls my apartment wondering where I am. That might be a little embarrassing if I have to tell them where I was all night…._

Thirty minutes later, Atem was being escorted towards the dining room, where there were two place settings already upon the long table. He noticed, however, that there were three chairs. He took the seat a little further down from the other two and glanced questioningly at the third chair, right next to the one at the head of the table that he assumed was Seto's. When the brunette emerged from a different door into the room, Atem pointed at the third chair.

"Why is there another chair if there are only two place settings?" the Egyptian asked.

"That's none of your-" Seto paused, frowning slightly. "It's my brother's."

"You have a brother?"

"Doesn't everyone know I have a brother?" Seto retorted somewhat rudely, picking up his morning paper and waiting for the kitchen staff to bring out their morning meal.

"Your coffee, sir," a butler said, holding out a steaming mug of black coffee to Seto.

Seto downed it quickly and handed the mug back to the butler, who nodded and went off to refill it. Atem stared for a moment and then looked down at his hands, which were folded in his lap. By the time the food came out ten minutes later, Seto seemed more relaxed. Atem figured he just wasn't a morning person. Not like he was, either, but he seemed to have more tolerance for the early hour (it was about seven-thirty at the moment) than the brunette. Atem ate his food in silence. Every time he came up with something to say, he would glance over at the taller man and find him engrossed in reading something in the paper; when that happened, Atem couldn't bring himself to interrupt him. The Egyptian sighed, finishing his food and placing his fork down on his plate. He noticed that Seto hadn't touched his food at all, merely sat there reading with his fork dangling loosely from his hand as if he had actually meant to eat and then just forgot about it. Eventually the brunette felt the other's eyes upon him and folded the paper before setting it aside, raising an eyebrow at his guest. Atem was startled by the sudden attention and flicked his eyes away. Seto frowned, stabbing a piece of now-cold sausage with his fork.

"Don't you know it's rude to stare?" Seto asked, leaning forward a bit over the table.

Atem flushed with embarrassment and crossed his arms over his chest. "I wasn't staring," he muttered.

"Funny, it sure seemed like it to me. Or perhaps you thought I wouldn't notice because of the paper? It wasn't _that_ interesting."

Atem bit his lip to prevent himself from throwing out a rude comment in retort, preferring instead to sit in his chair in a rather sulky manner. "Maybe I should go," he said after a moment.

"I'll call you a car."

"No, that's fine. I can walk," Atem said. _What is this? Isn't he supposed to try and stop me or something? That's how it works in the movies._

"I'll call you a car," Seto reinforced, motioning for one of his many employees to do so.

Atem crossed his arms again. _Well, whatever. Even though I am _perfectly capable _of getting home on my own… I'm not a child._ The maid- Atem noticed it was Kanagawa-san's cousin- that had gone off to get a car ready for Atem returned, giving a small curtsy at one of the entrances to the dining room.

"Master Kaiba, the car you requested is ready."

"Hn," the brunette replied.

As Atem got up to leave, Seto turned to him, hints of amusement hidden just beneath the icy exterior of his blue eyes.

"Next time, if you're going to fall asleep on me, I'd rather you do it elsewhere."

Atem turned quickly, following Kanagawa-san's cousin out of the dining room. Seto could swear he heard the other mutter something under his breath, but he wasn't sure exactly what. However, he did see for sure the blush of embarrassment that was spread over the Egyptian's complexion. The brunette leaned back in his chair, feeling pretty smug about the whole matter.

_Stopping isn't so bad,_ Seto mused, _if this is what it gets me._

**000000000**

I liked this chapter. This is the first time I really thought I could get somewhere with one set of characters. Although I really, _really_ wanted Mokuba to be here. Curse me setting the date of his arrival to be about three weeks from the current time. Ughhh. Oh well, that scene will just have to wait.

Oh, by the way… take Seto's last spoken line as you will.


	17. A Few Matters of Importance

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

I'm sick. And totally upset. Today I was supposed to have three tests AND we were choosing seats in the afternoon. We never get to do that, so I was excited to sit by all my friends. But because I was pretty much too ill to get out of bed today, I'm stuck sitting with a bunch of people I don't like in math. At least my friends saved me for chemistry and IDS. In other words… tomorrow and Thursday are half days, then I have Spring Break. We'll see how that goes, with me having to do some research. And keeping the stuff from my tests in my brain so I don't fail them after break. Ughhh.

Since we had an all-Seto/Atem chapter, I thought we'd take a little side trip for this one…. Plus! THE (albeit brief) RETURN OF SUIT MAN! By the way, this is the longest chapter so far (five and a half pages instead of the regular four!)

**Help me get better sooner by leaving reviews! Haha.**

**000000000**

"Mokubaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The raven-haired teen stopped in his tracks and turned around, raising his shoulder a bit to keep his book bag from falling off. Kisara was coming close to knocking several people down as she raced down the science corridor, long white hair trailing behind her. She stopped a few feet away, leaning against the wall and catching her breath while Mokuba waited patiently.

"Sorry," she breathed, moving away from the wall, "You forgot this."

Kisara held out Mokuba's history notebook, which the other took with a relieved expression.

"Thanks," he said, "I would have freaked out later if I didn't have it. But you know… you didn't have to run all the way to give it to me. Won't you be late for class? The art corridor is all the way on the other side of the school."

"Nah, I'll be fine. Art is going to be study hall today, Ms. Walker is sick."

"Still," Mokuba said, slipping the notebook into his bag, "You know how the librarians get when people are late for study hall."

"It's fine, it's fine!" Kisara insisted cheerfully, flashing a victory sign as the people around them started hurrying to their classrooms- it was almost time for class to start.

"Well, all right," Mokuba said, smiling softly. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?"

"Yep!" Kisara pushed Mokuba gently towards room 305- Junior Chemistry with Mr. Westing- before taking off in a full-out run towards the library for study hall.

Mokuba shook his head and pushed open the door to the classroom, sitting down in his seat just before the bell rang. Mokuba, like his brother, was smarter than most people, so although he was still a freshman, he was taking junior classes. It was part of the reason he wanted to go to this school- they had many advanced courses so that he would still have challenging classes to take even after he finished the normal senior classes during sophomore year. He liked taking the junior track, although sometimes he felt a little lonely. Most of his friends were freshmen, but because of the track differences, he didn't get to see them much. The teenager opened his chemistry book and began reading the pages that Mr. Westing had written on the board.

_When an electron is added to an atom in the ground state…._

**000000000**

After a completely boring lecture on electron affinity, ionization energy, and atomic radii, Mokuba left the chemistry room for lunch. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a group of girls huddling together, giggling and pointing as he passed by. It was no secret; as Mokuba got older, he was getting more handsome, and that annoyed the raven-haired teenager. _I don't want to be this popular_, Mokuba sighed, _it's annoying. They're always… giggling. And trying to get you to do stupid things. Like take pictures with them._ One of the girls looked like she was gathering up the courage to come talk to him when Kisara flew out of nowhere, waving a piece of paper in his face.

"Whoa, what is that?" Mokuba asked, backing up a few steps in fear of a facial paper cut.

"Plane ticket verification," Kisara beamed, "You know, that paper that you print out when you buy tickets online."

Mokuba let this sink in before a smile settled on his face.

"The date is a little bit later than expected, but that's fine, right? It was the cheapest flight I could find."

"It doesn't matter how much it costs, Kisara," Mokuba replied, folding the paper and sticking it in his bag, "It's not like we're short on cash or something."

"I just thought it would be rude to take up more of your money than we had to," she shrugged, then looped her arm through his, upsetting the group of girls. "Actually, there's another reason too."

"Which is…?"

"Well, there's a dance coming up, you know? It's on the day we were supposed to leave," the snow-haired girl said, turning her head slightly as a faint pink color graced her cheeks.

"Oh," Mokuba said. _A dance? Great. That's probably what that girl wanted to ask me about…._

"Are you going to go?" Kisara asked, pulling the other into the cafeteria with her as she walked through the double doors.

"I don't know… are you?" he asked in reply, scoping out the large room for some good seats.

"I think so. I mean, what I'm asking is, do you want to go with me?" Kisara asked as Mokuba pointed out an empty table across the room.

The younger Kaiba stopped and looked at his friend. She was the one girl he never expected to ask. _I mean, she's my good friend. I didn't think…._ He paused for a moment and smiled.

"Sure," he said, and Kisara absolutely beamed.

**000000000**

Malik lay on his bed, staring up at the cheap hotel ceiling- that kind with the swirly plaster that pretty much every hotel has. Ryou was at the desk across the room, next to the television set. He had the telephone receiver to his ear, waiting patiently as the line rang. He tapped pale fingers against the dark wood of the desk, sighing when the call went to the machine.

"_Hello, you've reached the Ishtar residence! Callers wishing to leave a message for Ishizu Ishtar dealing with work, please press one now. Callers wishing to leave a personal message, please press two. We'll get back to you as soon as possible!_"

Ryou pressed two, then waited for the machine to go through its automated message before he heard the beep that meant that he could leave a message.

"Ishizu-san, it's Ryou. Call Malik's cell phone as soon as you get this, all right? We have something important to tell you."

He hung up the phone with a sigh, turning around in his chair to face his boyfriend, who was currently contemplating just _why_ exactly all hotels had swirly ceilings.

"Do you think she'll be mad?" Ryou asked.

"Nah. Probably glad to have us out of her hair. But you know Ishizu, she'll still be upset when we leave. And she'll call a lot. She does that."

"True," Ryou said, pushing his hair behind his ears and out of his face.

He stood and made his way over to the bed, sitting on the edge and reaching over to tangle pale fingers into platinum blonde hair.

"It'll be different, living here again. You'll have to get used to the cold again," Ryou whispered.

"Eh," Malik shrugged. "What do you say we pay Temtem a visit, eh?"

"Tonight?"

"Why not?"

"He might be busy…."

"Feh. We'll just surprise him."

Ryou smiled softly, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend's complete lack of politeness when it came to barging in unannounced. Not that anyone could be polite when they barged in uninvited, but regardless.

"I'll call him."

"That will ruin the surprise!" Malik protested.

"Too bad," Ryou said, taking Malik's cell phone off the nightstand and dialing Atem's number.

**000000000**

The Egyptian in question was currently lounging around his apartment when the phone rang. He got out of his chair and made his way to the kitchen, picking it up.

"Hello?" he asked, grabbing a can of soda out of the fridge.

"Atem? It's Ryou. Are you busy?"

"Nah. Why, do you want to come over?"

"Yeah. Malik's bored."

"Sure. Come over whenever, I've just been hanging around watching boring television."

The doorbell rang, and crimson eyes darted to the entryway.

"Hold on, someone's at the door."

"All right."

Atem set the receiver down on the counter and made his way over to the door, peering through the privacy hole. Not really taking in who it was on the other side, he opened the door to reveal Suit Man carrying a large bouquet of flowers with a card attached. The Egyptian blinked, taking the flowers as they were offered to him. As soon as the flowers were handed over, Suit Man turned and walked off, leaving a very confused Atem. He shut the door and made his way back to the kitchen, pulling the card off as he arranged the flowers in the vase on his table in place of the flowers Anzu had brought before. He turned the small piece of paper over, reading the message written on it.

_Thursday, 6 pm. All right with you? S.K._

Atem chuckled at Seto's blunt offer of a date as he picked the receiver back up.

"You still there, Ryou?"

"Still here."

"Sorry about that. It was a flower delivery man."

"Oh really? You got flowers?"

"Yeah. See you guys in a few minutes then?"

"Okay."

There was a click as Ryou hung up the phone. Atem pressed a button on the phone to make sure the line was fully disconnected, then called up Kaiba Corp. A secretary answered, voice cheerful and bubbly. She had probably just started her shift.

"Hello, Kaiba Corp. How may we help you?"

"I need to speak to Kaiba-san. Tell him it's Mutou, he'll know who I am."

"Please hold," the secretary said, making a quick check with the CEO to make sure her boss really wanted to speak to this caller. "Very well, Mutou-san. I'm patching you through now."

There was a short pause before Atem heard another click and then a slightly amused chuckle.

"I assume you got the flowers, then?"

"Just now, actually. Nice card," Atem said, not without a hint of sarcasm, leaning against the countertop. "It was so terribly romantic."

"Is that a yes, then?"

"Yes." Atem paused. "Where are we going?"

As Seto went to answer, Atem's apartment door flung open and he was suddenly tackled to the floor by a flying mass of Egyptian.

"Temtem!" Malik cried, "Get off the phone and have fun with us!"

"Er?" came Seto's voice.

"Sorry," Atem said, shoving Malik off of him, "Some friends came to see me. I'll call you later."

"They call you Temtem?" Seto asked, amused.

"Ugh. It's rather annoying," Atem replied. "Actually, before I go… do I really have to call you at work every time I want to get a hold of you? I don't really enjoy waiting as various secretaries tell me to 'please hold' while they check that I'm not some crazy stalker or something."

"Of course not. Do you have a pen?"

"Yeah," Atem said, pulling one out of a kitchen drawer as Malik continued to pull at his arm.

The brunette gave Atem his cell phone number before they said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Crimson eyes glared down at Malik, who was still sitting on the floor from their fall. Purple eyes widened in return as the blonde twisted his face into a puppy dog pout.

"Temtem is so rude, talking to people on the phone when his best friend comes to visit."

"It was _important_, Malik," Atem sighed, making his way into the living room where he waved briefly to Ryou.

"Who was it?" Ryou inquired as Atem sat down in an armchair.

"Seto," Atem said. "And now, thanks to Malik, he now knows a rather horrid nickname of mine."

Malik only grinned, reaching for the television remote. "But it's a _cuuuute_ nickname!"

"It is _not_. It's _annoying_," Atem insisted.

"So you two are doing all right, then?" Ryou asked.

"…Yeah. We're doing all right."

"That's good."

**000000000**

Shizuka sighed, flopping back onto her bed when she heard the phone ring. Reaching over to her nightstand she picked up her cordless phone and pressed the talk button.

"Jounouchi residence," she said softly.

"Shizuka-chan?" Mai asked, "Is Katsuya there?"

"No, he's at work," Shizuka replied, "is it important?"

"No, not really. Just tell him I called, okay?"

"I will. Have a nice afternoon, Kujaku-san."

The red-head stared up at her ceiling, which was covered with posters of her favorite bands and movies. Now among them was one she'd taken from her brother of Mai, one of the promotional posters for _Evening Bloom_. Ever since the other day when he'd gone out to the bar and met her in person, Katsuya had been very happy. _She has to leave soon, though,_ Shizuka sighed, _After all, _Evening Bloom _is a traveling dinner show. What will Katsuya do then?_

Halfway across the city, Mai was thinking the same thing. _I don't want to leave just yet, but I don't really have a choice,_ she thought, brushing her blonde hair into a ponytail. _I'll come back, though. I'll make sure of it._

**000000000**

Anzu was at the grocery store; it was almost dinner time and she didn't have everything she needed for tonight's meal. She made her way down the aisles, picking up a few items and placing them in her basket.

_I've never tried this recipe before. I hope Yugi likes it_, she thought as she stood waiting for her turn in the checkout line. The brunette was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder, whirling around to find Jou standing behind her.

"Jou! You _scared_ me! I thought you were still at work…?"

"We didn't have much work today, so the boss let us all go home a little after lunch. What are ya doin' here?"

"Shopping, obviously," Anzu replied, holding up her basket, "I forgot to buy some things earlier that I needed for dinner. What are you here for?"

Jou turned his head and blushed, hiding his intended purchases behind his back. Anzu raised an eyebrow, trying to see behind her blonde friend.

"What? It can't be _that _bad," she insisted.

The blonde reluctantly brought his hands in front of him, revealing a box of chocolates and a small bunch of roses.

"Who are those for?" Anzu asked, placing her things on the shopping conveyor.

"They're for Mai," Jou confessed, scratching his head nervously. "She's gotta leave town soon, ya know, and well…."

"That's very sweet," Anzu said, patting his arm gently. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

"I hope so," Jou said.

"She will," the brunette assured, collecting her purchases from the bagger. "I'll see you around, Jou."

"Bye, Anzu."

Anzu left the store with her groceries, glancing back once before she got into her car. _I hope for Jou's sake that she's happy_, she thought, _Jou needs this._

**000000000**

Yep, Mokuba's a smartie. He takes the Junior track even though he is still a freshman. If you don't know what the tracks are, they're basically the following:

**Freshmen**: English 9, Algebra 1, Earth Science, American History, and electives. (Kisara takes art, some other students might take a language, etc. Most freshmen take health and gym though, since they are requirements at least at my school.)

**Sophomores**: English 10, Geometry, Biology, World History, electives.

**Juniors**: English 11, Algebra 2/Trig, Chemistry, Government, electives.

**Seniors**: English 12, Pre-Calculus or Calculus, Physics, electives.

Also, I've numbered the classes by track- any 100 classes will be mostly freshmen classes, 200 will be mostly sophomore, 300 are mostly junior, 400 are mostly senior, and 500 are mixed (these are generally electives).


	18. Completely Unprepared

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Writing MokubaxKisara always cheers me up. Those two are so cute. And Seto's getting better, right? Right? Haha.

Well, it's officially spring break. During this next week, I have 1) to do my math homework 2) to do some research 3) to go see Blades of Glory and go out to lunch with my best friend and 4) to finish up some things for Spanish. Between these four events, I will be writing as much of this fic as I possibly can. I think I'd expect two more chapters, but if I can't do it, I can't do it. Sorry if that happens. **By the way**… ED's been added to another C2 community. Yay!

**Reviews are to me as cookies are to a certain blue monster. Leave me some?**

**000000000**

"Asami! You're late!"

"I know! I'm sorry!"

Asami, better known as Kanagawa-san's cousin, dashed in the back entrance of the Kaiba Mansion, hopping on one foot as she changed from street shoes into house slippers and pulled on her apron.

"You're lucky that Master Kaiba left early for the office, or you'd be out of a job," an elderly woman warned, handing Asami the schedule she would be following that day.

"Come now, okaa-san," another maid said, "I don't think so. Haven't you noticed that Kaiba-san is changing a bit?"

"_Master_ Kaiba," 'okaa-san' said sternly, "Just because you're young doesn't mean you can disregard proper manners."

"Yes, okaa-san," the maid replied politely, giving a small curtsy before hooking her arm with Asami's. "We're on the same schedule today, so let's get started. It's my otou-san's birthday and if I can, I _really_ have to get home early."

Asami and the other maid were grabbing supplies to take with them on their cleaning excursion when the staff line rang. Okaa-san's eyebrows raised and she picked up the line, pressing it to her ear.

"Hello, employee line."

"Okaa-san! Are you doing well? It's me, Mokuba."

"Master Mokuba?"

At these words, all the staff in the immediate area dropped their things and gathered around to hear better. Okaa-san gave them all a stern glare but allowed them to stay, knowing that they all loved the child and missed him very much. The mansion certainly was much emptier and certainly more quiet without the teenager around.

"Yeah, it's me! Don't tell nii-sama, though. I want it to be a secret!"

"Master Mokuba, what _exactly_ are you planning?" the wizened old woman asked, suddenly suspicious that the well-kept home may soon be in ruins thanks to the troublemaking teen.

"Nothing bad, I promise! A friend and I are coming to visit soon, okay? But you can't tell nii-sama no matter what! I just want to make sure that we'll be able to get in the house without him knowing when we arrive."

"Er, of course, Master Mokuba… but when will you be coming?"

These words sparked excited glances between the listening maids and butlers. _Mokuba-chan is coming home?_

"In a few weeks. I'll call again closer to the time we'll be coming, but I thought I'd just give you a heads up, so that you don't think we're impostors or something. Oh! And we consent to a security check too, so that you all really know it's us."

"I don't think that will be necessary, Master Mokuba," okaa-san said, "though the security team must think otherwise, I suppose."

"All right. I have to go now, it's almost time for curfew. Have a good day, okaa-san. Oh, and everybody else that I know is listening!"

The people not directly in contact with the employee phone grinned and chorused their goodbyes to the younger Kaiba.

**000000000**

Ryou and Malik's visit to Atem's apartment had somehow ended up with all three of them curled up on the couch in front of the television, which had gone to static after a movie they'd been watching ended. Malik was the first to wake up, and he was not about to waste that advantage over his peacefully sleeping boyfriend and his host, also his best friend. Grinning wickedly, the blonde tiptoed into the kitchen and fished a marker out of a drawer, creeping back over to the couch and drawing silly things all over Atem's face. When that was finished, he drew hearts on Ryou's skin and wrote 'I love Malik' on his pale forehead.

"I do believe that this is my finest masterpiece," he muttered to himself, standing back to admire the work he had done on both men.

True, the two of them would be absolutely furious with him when they woke up and found themselves that way, but their initial reactions would be way more than worth it. However, the Egyptian was not expecting someone to come calling at the apartment, certainly not this early. When he heard the first knock on the door, he ignored it, hoping the person would realize that it was seven in the morning and would go away. When the second knock sounded, violet eyes glanced nervously from the door to the two sleepers. When a third knock came, a little louder, he moved as fast as he could without making too much noise. However, when he was almost to the door, the doorbell rang. Atem suddenly sat up, rubbing his eyes. _Damn_, Malik thought, frozen to the floor. The owner of the apartment yawned and stretched, getting up when the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it," Malik offered, moving towards the door, but Atem shook his head.

"'S my house, _I'll_ get it."

_If it's an important visitor, I am so dead,_ Malik thought, only slightly regretting the prank he had decided to pull. Atem yawned again, opening the door to reveal someone with brown hair and blue eyes. _Shit, _Malik's mind raced, _I am dead. I am dead. I AM DEAD!_ WHY _did his boyfriend have to come visit _NOW

"Good morning, Anzu," Atem said, giving a half-hearted wave because of his tiredness.

_I'm so sorry, Atem! Don't kill me! Wait, what? _Anzu…? _Who's Anzu…?_

"Um, Atem?"

"Yeah?"

"What on _earth_ happened to your face?"

"What? What's wrong with it…?"

"There's… marker all over it."

Atem's eye twitched, and he turned slowly to face Malik, crimson eyes narrowed dangerously as a creepy smile spread across his lips.

"Maaaaalik…? Is there something you'd like to tell me…?"

The blonde Egyptian gulped, shaking his head nervously.

"Nope, nothing! Absolutely noooothing," he said, giving a weak smile and taking a step back from his enraged friend.

"Are you positive, Malik?" he asked again, stepping forward to shorten the gap that Malik had just made between them.

Anzu went to say something, and Malik took that chance to escape. He took off down the hall of the apartment complex, not even bothering to grab a coat or shoes.

"Oh dear. It's rather cold outside, too," Anzu said.

"_Good_," Atem gritted out from between his teeth. "Let him _freeze_."

When the brunette had stepped inside, Atem shut the door behind her and locked it, eager to get the other back for his little prank.

"So, that was…?"

"Malik," Atem replied, tone suddenly completely calm and civil.

Anzu blinked, a little unnerved at the sudden change in attitude, but didn't question it.

"Ah, so then _that-_" she gestured to Ryou, who was still sleeping on the couch,"-must be Ryou, right?"

"Right. You didn't meet him when Yugi had him over before?"

She shook her head and gave a little shrug, slipping her coat off and hanging it up by the door as she kicked her shoes off and put on a pair of house slippers.

"Oh well. I'll introduce you two properly once he wakes up. In any case, it looks like Malik got to him too…."

"I guess so," Anzu said, suppressing a giggle at the message written across the sleeping man's forehead. "Do you want to wash up? I'll wait."

"Thanks," Atem nodded, heading off to the bathroom to do just that.

Once Atem had gotten most of the marker off- there were still a few traces evident on his features- he and Anzu sat down to breakfast. Yugi had apparently run off early that morning on an errand for the game shop he worked at with his grandfather, and Anzu had felt a little lonely. It wasn't much, since Atem didn't keep much in his fridge to make breakfast with, so the two friends had a simple meal of cereal instead of one of the brunette's delicious home-cooked delights. Eventually there came another knocking on the door, and Atem had to suppress a grin.

"It's probably Malik, trying to get in again," Atem said when Anzu moved to get the door, "Don't worry about it. I'll let him in when we're done."

Anzu was a bit uneasy about it, but nodded and returned to her seat to finish her breakfast. The knocking got more insistent, but Atem kept to his word and didn't budge from his chair until he had finished his breakfast.

"God, Malik, don't have a cow. It's not like the building doesn't have heat, and it's _your_ fault for running out without a coat any-"

The Egyptian stopped dead in his tracks when he looked up from the door handle to find _not_ a blonde Egyptian but a tall brunette CEO.

"_Oh_."

Seto raised an eyebrow, amusement hiding just beneath his neutral expression. Atem flushed with embarrassment.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I thought you were someone else," Atem breathed.

"I gathered that," the brunette replied coolly.

"Atem? Who is it?" Anzu asked, setting their bowls in the sink and stepping around the corner of the kitchen to find herself face to face with one Seto Kaiba. "Ah. Should I leave?"

"Mazaki," Seto nodded. "Good morning."

"Huh? Oh! Good morning," Anzu replied, somewhat confused.

She hadn't been aware that Atem and Seto had seen each other after their not-so-fabulous date, let alone that the CEO had been making small but significant changes in his lifestyle.

"You don't have to leave, Anzu-chan," Atem said.

"No, no… I feel like I'd just be intruding. I'll just go. Call me later or something, okay?"

With that, Anzu left the apartment. Seto leaned against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets, staring expectantly at Atem.

"Hmm? Oh! Do you want to come in?"

"Well, I can think of two people who are a little slow this morning," Seto said, a very small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. After all, it was still early and Seto was most like his previous self when he was tired or angry; a smile was not commonplace beforehand, and many people knew it well.

"Well, _excuse_ me for having woken up about half an hour ago," Atem teased as the taller man made his way into the apartment.

Atem suddenly felt very self-conscious about his home. It was _much_ smaller and much less fancy than Seto's home, _that_ was for sure.

"You can sit down, if you want. Do you want something to eat? Or drink?"

"Do you have coffee?"

"Yeah, I have coffee," Atem said, hurrying into the kitchen to make some.

_This is just regular instant coffee, though. What if he doesn't like it because it's not the fancy stuff he's used to?_ Seto walked into the living room and stopped short when he found Ryou's sleeping form on the couch.

"Who is this?" he asked, trying not to appear suspicious.

"A friend of mine. He and Malik- I wonder where _he_ went- came over last night to watch a movie, and we all fell asleep."

"You have someone else here? I should have called first," Seto frowned, accepting the mug of coffee when Atem handed it to him through the pass-through.

"Don't worry about it. Malik disappeared somewhere and Ryou's still asleep, so it's fine."

"Ah."

Atem laid his arms on the shelf of the pass-through, leaning halfway through it to talk to his visitor. Seto was sitting in the armchair closest to the pass-through, glancing around what he could see of the apartment. Blue eyes came to rest on the flowers on the kitchen table, and the CEO repressed a smile.

"I see you like the flowers."

"They're lovely. Thank you."

Seto gave an awkward shrug, obviously not used to affectionate gestures like the giving of flowers- _otherwise he would have delivered them himself, not sent Suit Man_, Atem assured himself. He sank a little deeper into the armchair and drank his coffee in silence for a few minutes before the Egyptian sighed.

"You're closing up."

"…Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry, just try not to do it."

He came around the pass-through and stood next to Seto's armchair, resting slightly against the wall. The brunette finished off his coffee and set the empty mug on the counter.

"Are you supposed to work today?"

"Only in the afternoon."

"Not anymore. I'm stealing you away."

"What?"

"You heard me. Give me the phone, I'll tell Kanagawa-san. We're going out."

"Oh really? To where?"

"That's not important right now. Phone?"

Crimson eyes lit up with amusement as Atem handed the phone to Seto, whose eyebrow quirked at the sight of an actual cord phone.

"I haven't seen one of these since the _Stone Age_."

"What? What's wrong with my phone?"

"It has a _cord_," Seto stated, incredulous. "I'm getting you a new one."

Atem just nodded although he was somewhat upset at the insult of his phone- _who cares if it's lame? It works, and that's all I care about_- as the brunette dialed in the number to the Louis Vuitton boutique and declared him unable to work that day. Once the phone was replaced on the hook, Atem inquired as to their destination for the second time.

"It's a secret," Seto declared with a sense of finality. There would be no cracking the brunette for information.

"Fine then," Atem said, crossing his arms.

**000000000**

Malik finally decided to come back around the same time that Ryou decided to wake up; upon noticing Seto's presence, the two of them left as quickly as they could. Malik was muttering apologies all the way out the door, and Ryou didn't seem to have noticed his own facial designs just yet. Atem figured that was probably for the best, because Malik was still pretty shaken up from his own anger. He didn't need the wrath of his boyfriend on him at the same time. Once Atem's two overnight boarders had left, Seto stood up from his chair.

"Ready to go?"

"I guess so. Let me grab my coat."

"Hn."

Atem made his way to the small entrance hall and pulled on his shoes before grabbing his coat off of the rack and stuffing his keys in his pocket as he put it on. He opened the door to go, about to turn around and tell Seto that they could go. The Egyptian was completely unprepared for what came next- as he was opening his mouth to speak, he was unexpectedly grabbed around the waist and kissed full on the lips by the brunette.

**000000000**

For having such a hard time with writing this chapter, it ended up pretty important, didn't it? Hehe. I didn't actually plan for the kiss to happen just yet, but it was a guilty impulse of mine. Hey, I'm pretty sure you're all happy about it anyways!

This chapter is now the new longest (by seven words), which is pretty amazing. I keep setting new records for myself, don't I? Length _and_ a relationship milestone!

On a completely different subject: I know we hate to think about it, but eventually Engine Damage is going to end. When that happens, I have something special for you all… two (yes, TWO) bonus chapters are going to follow the last chapter of ED.

I'm also starting to formulate plans for a sequel, but I'm not entirely sure that it'll work out correctly. Let's all hope for the best, yes?


	19. Obvious

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

I've finished a bit of my math (but only a little). Unfortunately, I still have to do the rest, my Spanish, and my research. I'm trying to get chapter TWENTY (!!) out this week too, so look for that. Also, a small note: there is going to be a time jump soon, either in chapter 20 or 21. At the latest, 22.

**Let's try for 10 reviews this chapter! Please?**

**000000000**

As they broke apart, Atem was vaguely aware of the fact that his face was burning. He was also aware that his legs seemed to have taken this opportunity to transform themselves into jelly, and the Egyptian rocked backwards on his feet, flinging his arms out to catch himself on the wall. However, such actions were not necessary as Seto was still holding onto him quite tightly, keeping him upright. This also meant that the shorter of the two was pressed against the taller, causing Atem's face to heat up even further and his mind to race faster. _This can't be good for my health_, a passing thought murmured as it whizzed out of his brain. Atem leaned against the CEO for a moment before realizing the brunette had said something and was now pausing to hear his answer.

"Sorry, what?" the Egyptian asked, head still spinning and voice betraying his unfocused state of mind.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…."

Seto arched an eyebrow, clearly skeptical about the other's reply. However, he had planned a date for that day and if they didn't hurry along, they would be late. Seto hated to be late. He loosened his hold on Atem, whose legs didn't immediately collapse beneath him, although by the slight shaking it was obviously they might any second now.

"Right then," Seto said, picking the shorter man up carefully.

"Wha… what are you doing?" Atem cried, flushing even further with embarrassment at the way Seto was treating him. "I can walk, you know!"

"Your legs seem to think otherwise at the moment," the brunette commented in a cool tone. "Now, if you'd rather spend your time falling all over the place, I'll set you down."

Atem _really_ wanted to protest, but deep down he knew that the taller man was right. Even though he'd gotten over the initial shock, he was still a little wobbly. _Well, it's _his _fault in the first place_, his mental voice grumbled, _going around _kissing _people out of nowhere… well, I guess it's okay. _Seto carried him out of the building and into the parking lot before setting him down, where Atem demonstrated that he could now stand all on his own. The brunette nodded at the door, meaning for Atem to get in the passenger's seat while he made his way around the vehicle to the driver's side. Tri-colored hair disappeared from view as Atem ducked into the car he was beginning to become very familiar with. _Well, I seem to be becoming rather familiar with this particular seat, at least._ He was aware of the jingling of keys as the ignition was turned and the engine was brought to life, as well as the soft music pouring out of the speakers and washing over the interior of the car. He heard the click of Seto's seatbelt and the sound of tires against pavement as the Vanquish backed out of the parking space and made its way onto the road.

"Kaiba-san?"

"Hm?"

"Can I… call you Seto?"

There was a pause, as though the brunette were hesitant. Crimson eyes watched him as he drove, lingering on his face. Somehow, Atem noticed, he always seemed more relaxed while behind the wheel.

"Yes," Seto finally answered.

"And… Seto?" Atem said softly, letting his mouth get used to the feel of the other's name.

"Hm?"

"What does this… make _us_?"

The car crawled to a stop next to the curb and Seto turned in his seat towards Atem, blue eyes flashing with some underlying emotion that Atem couldn't quite place.

"I thought that would have been obvious," the brunette said, one hand leaving the steering wheel to rest gently on Atem's shoulder.

For the second time that day, Atem opened his mouth to speak and was silenced by a kiss.

**000000000**

It was fairly obvious that something was up when Seto Kaiba strolled into his mansion, a smile spread across his lips. It wasn't a huge smile, but it was there nonetheless. The strangest part about it was that the older Kaiba didn't seem at all angry or cynical at the moment, and so the staff were inclined to believe that their employer was in all actuality really and truly _happy_. More than a little unnerved at this most recent development, a maid rushed to the staff area where okaa-san was fishing supplies out of a large closet.

"Okaa-san! Master Kaiba has returned," the maid said.

"Help me get this down, won't you?" the elderly woman asked, gesturing to a roll of paper towel on a shelf just out of her reach.

"Of course, okaa-san," the maid acquiesced before walking over and handing the package to the older woman.

"Thank you. Now, what were you saying?"

"Master Kaiba has arrived home," she began.

"Does he require assistance?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"So what are you telling me for?"

"That's just it, okaa-san. He was smiling, a _real_ smile!"

The employees on their break time came around the corner, eyes wide. Okaa-san stood there in a small shock for a moment before remembering herself.

"My, my. Things really are changing around here, aren't they?" was all the old woman could bring herself to say.

**000000000**

Yugi was surprised to find his older brother standing on his doorstep with a look on his face that could only be described as dreamy. Crimson eyes were slightly glazed over, and a smile was tugging at his lips.

"Is Anzu here?" Atem asked, glancing behind his brother to see if he could catch sight of the brunette in the kitchen.

"Yeah, but she's in the shower. Come on in," Yugi said, stepping aside for his brother.

Atem made his way into the kitchen and sat down in his usual chair, not surprised to find Malik and Ryou on the floor in the bedroom watching television.

"You should probably move the television out of your bedroom. It might get annoying."

"It already is annoying," Yugi sighed, "but we don't have anywhere else to put it for now."

At the sound of Atem's voice, Malik gave up the fight for the remote- he, apparently, wanted to watch wrestling while Ryou wanted to watch a documentary- and abandoned the bedroom in favor of the kitchen. Upon seeing the look on Atem's face, his own expression broke into a wide grin.

"Someone's been out on a date, haven't they? Or am I wrong, and you two just lounged around your apartment all day, eh? Getting up to private business?"

"Shut up, Malik," Atem glared, "it was just a date. We went to the aquarium."

"Funny, I can't imagine hi-" the blonde stopped short at the deadly glare emanating from Atem's eyes. "Oh, right. I forgot," he said sheepishly, scratching his head in embarrassment.

Yugi's normally cheerful eyes narrowed as he looked from one to the other.

"You're keeping something from me. I swear, everyone knows who your mystery date is except for me, nii-san."

"That's not true," Atem spoke, "Jou doesn't know either. Or Shizuka. And Malik and Ryou only found out because they saw us together."

"No, it was before that, remember? And we made fun of you for not knowing about h-"

"Shut up," Atem said again, elbowing his friend in the stomach.

"Right, right," Malik nodded, wincing a bit.

Finding the documentary less satisfying than the commercials advertising it made it out to be, Ryou joined the trio in the kitchen.

"What are we talking about?" he asked, taking a seat at the table.

"Nii-san's mystery girl," Yugi sighed, "who he _still_ won't tell me about."

Atem effectively silenced Malik with a glare before he could say anything else about the subject.

"Ah, right. _She's_… ah, not the type of person that you would expect," Ryou said, glancing over at his crimson-eyed friend. "However, I have to say I fully support Atem's decision. It makes sense."

"Of course it does, I know how to make my own decisions, after all," Atem retorted, leaning back in his chair.

"Atem? When did you get here?" Anzu asked, entering the kitchen in a sweatshirt and jeans, hair heavy and dark from her shower.

"Just now, actually. Can we… talk? Outside?"

"Absolutely. Excuse us for a moment, you guys," she said as the pair slipped outside onto the porch.

Atem sat on the top step leading up to the house, hands folded in his lap as he looked up at the increasingly darkening sky. Anzu sat silently beside him, resting her hand gently on his arm.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" she asked, voice soft in its inquiry. "Did something happen?"

"Nothing bad," he replied, turning his gaze away from the twinkling stars and settling instead on her sapphire eyes.

"What is it, then?"

"I… don't know how to tell Yugi. Or Jiisan," Atem whispered, "I think Yugi is angry with me. At the least, he's very suspicious."

"Would you like me to tell him…?"

"No, I don't think that's necessary," he sighed, leaning back on his elbows.

They sat in the quiet of the night for a few minutes, Atem watching the stars appear and Anzu gently humming more for Atem's comfort than for herself. A silver car passed by, and Atem was reminded of driving with Seto.

"We went out today, you know. Seto and I. To the aquarium."

"How was it?"

"It was… it was good. We had a nice time, really. He… we… we kissed twice."

Atem didn't need to look at her to know she was sporting a grin that would probably split her face if it were any wider. He felt her hand on his shoulder briefly before he found his arms full of Anzu. She pulled back from the hug, eyes glittering with happiness.

"Are you official, then?"

Her voice was bursting with happiness, and just the sound of it could instantly cheer a stadium full of people. He smiled at her.

"I think so. I mean, we haven't really told anyone… but it feels like it."

"I'm so proud of you," she breathed, "I really am."

There was a pause before the brunette woman got to her feet, pulling her soon-to-be brother-in-law up with her.

"Bring him to the wedding," Anzu suddenly said before adding, "We'd love to have him."

**000000000**

A few days passed by and then it was Thursday. Atem spent his day at work, waiting until he could go home. Tonight, of course, was his third date with Seto, and he was impatient for the workday to be done and over with. At five o'clock he closed up the shop in record time and hopped into his beaten-down car, driving home to his apartment to get ready. He made his way up the steps of the apartment complex and down the hall until he came to his door, finding a wrapped box on the floor. Atem picked it up and inspected it before coming across a tag that indicated that it was indeed for him, and that it was from Seto. He turned the key in the lock and stepped into his apartment, setting the box on the kitchen table as he shrugged off his coat and removed his shoes. Upon opening the parcel he found that it was nothing other than a cell phone, which made his lips quirk in amusement. There was a note taped to the box as well, which Atem read aloud to his empty kitchen.

"Now you can get rid of that archaic cord phone. Seto. Well, wasn't that an eloquent way of putting things," he laughed, opening the cardboard box and pulling out his new cell phone.

Atem turned the device on to see if it worked and then set it down to get changed; Seto hadn't exactly told him their destination, so he'd just make the best of it. After putting on an outfit best described as 'dressy-casual', the Egyptian was making his way to the bathroom to fix his hair when the cell phone in the kitchen started ringing. Completely forgetting that the phone was brand new and therefore only one person could _possibly _have his phone number, he flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Very funny," Seto said, rolling his eyes on the other end of the line. "Who else would it be?"

"Oh. Right," Atem replied, embarrassed. "Um, thank you for the phone?"

"Don't mention it," the brunette said. "I'll be there a little late, something came up at work."

"That's fine, I completely understand. I'll see you later then."

"Hn."

Atem closed the phone and placed it in his pocket, returning to the bathroom to finish getting ready. He realized belatedly that he should have asked where exactly they were going. _Oh well_, he thought, _It'll just be another surprise._

**000000000**

It was lunchtime, and school was about to end early because of parent-teacher conferences. Although it was autumn, it was a particularly warm day, and so many students had chosen to eat outside. Mokuba sat on the freshly manicured lawn of the school, a lunch tray laying beside him on the grassy slope. He reached over for a fry only to discover that they were all gone. On the other side of the tray, Kisara laughed, clearly having eaten the french fries while the raven-haired teen wasn't paying attention. He frowned, shooting a half-hearted glare at her. For some reason, this only made her laugh harder, which in turn started Mokuba laughing. The students around them started staring, but they weren't much inclined to care at the moment. Eventually the two friends calmed down and Kisara held out her own container of fries, offering them in return for the fries of his that she had eaten.

"If you had your own, why did you take mine?"

"Yours were seasoned," she said simply, giving a slight shrug.

Gray eyes rolled as Kisara's lips twisted into another smile. She pushed herself out of her lying down position and into a sitting position, stretching her arms out above her head.

"It's almost break, huh."

"Yeah."

"Are you excited?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course I am. I finally get to see Japan!"

"I thought you lived there before."

"When I was really little, yeah. I don't remember it at all."

"Oh."

"Will you show me around?"

"Of course I will. I don't know if we'll be going any place particularly exciting, but I'll at least show you around Domino."

"Is that where you live?"

"Yeah. It's nice there."

"Mm."

A breeze blew through, ruffling the grass and their hair as it passed on by the school. Kisara looked up at the sky, watching fluffy white clouds drift by and occasionally block out the sun for a brief moment. Dark blue eyes drifted down onto the grass and back up to the sky as Kisara gently reached her hand out and rested it gently on top of Mokuba's, a soft blush gracing her pale face. Startled, Mokuba looked down at their hands and then over at Kisara before turning back straight ahead, his own face turning slightly pink. Another cloud passed over the sun and he intertwined his fingers with hers.

**000000000**

Not much to say about this chapter, really.

Seto and Atem will go out on another date next chapter, and Yugi might finally find out the truth behind all of his brother's secrecy.

Um, I think this is the new longest. I'm not entirely sure.

Until next time!


	20. Positive

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Homework left: Research, research, and MORE research (which I can't do until I get together with my partner anyway). In other words, it's going along great. I hope those of you that celebrate Easter had a good one; I certainly did. My parents bought me some of my favorite scent (warm vanilla sugar!) from Bath and Body Works so I was really excited about that.

Also, it seems that in the first chapter (and summary) I didn't make it clear enough for some people that this is a shounen-ai fic. Oh well.

**We've finally reached chapter 20! Thanks for continuing your support along this journey. (By the way, I did get 10 reviews on the last chapter (actually more than 10, thank you so much) – and also broke the 100 mark!!)**

**000000000**

Atem had just sat down to watch a bit of television when his doorbell rang. He pressed the power button to turn it off and got up, slipping his feet into a pair of shoes and grabbing his coat before opening the door. Seto stood on the other side, looking very nice in a black button-up shirt and black dress pants, accented by the trademark Kaiba Corp belt. The first two buttons of his shirt were left open, exposing a silver chain around his neck.

"Can you swim?"

"What? I guess I can if I really need to…."

"Good," Seto said, steering his boyfriend down the hall after the apartment door had been closed and locked.

"Where are we going that I need to swim?"

"You don't need to."

"Then why…?"

"In case of an emergency."

"Oh." Atem paused. "Where are we going that I need to swim in case of an emergency?"

"A boat."

"Oh."

For what seemed like the hundredth time in recent weeks, Atem climbed into the passenger's seat of the Aston Martin as Seto made his way to the driver's side of the vehicle. The car hummed to life and crawled out of the parking space as another familiar car pulled into the lot, scanning for a space. The other car parked as soon as the Aston Martin had fully vacated the space; the driver looked up to wave his thanks and found himself looking at a very familiar person. Atem's eyes widened and he ducked down in his seat to hide himself from view.

"Oh my god."

"What?"

"That's my brother."

Seto glanced over at the other car to find a man almost identical to Atem sitting in the driver's seat. The only differences were that he had blue eyes, he seemed to be lighter in skin color, and shorter in height.

"Since when did you have a twin?" Seto asked.

"I don't. Can we go?"

The brunette raised an eyebrow, but drove off all the same, leaving an extremely suspicious Yugi in the parking space in front of Atem's apartment building.

**000000000**

The boat turned out to be a yacht, one of the fancy ones that people can rent for a few hours and take out on the bay. However, Seto was not the type to rent a yacht, and so purchased it simply for the purpose of his date with Atem. Now that they were on the yacht, however, Seto wasn't sure what he was going to do with it after this.

"Do you like boating?" the brunette asked, running a hand over the side of the yacht.

"I don't know," Atem said, leaning over the edge to look down at how the water parted as the craft moved, "I've only gone one other time, when I was little. I didn't hate it, anyhow."

"I figured that, seeing as how you got _on_ this thing," Seto commented, stepping away from the edge and back towards the middle of the deck, where there was a small table set up for dining purposes.

It was still dusk, but the sky was becoming inkier with every passing moment, revealing the stars like twinkling diamonds against black velvet. Atem suppressed the sudden urge to reach out and try to touch them. Within no time the white yacht was gliding smoothly through black waters beneath a black sky, illuminated by the lights along the coast and those on other crafts. Atem was startled a bit as he felt a hand on his shoulder, relieved to find that it was only Seto. The brunette leaned down a bit to whisper in the other's ear, making Atem shiver with the feel of Seto's breath on his skin.

"It's time for dinner."

The Egyptian found himself wanting to reach out and kiss the brunette, but instead his legs led him over to the table, where he sat down in one of the two chairs and looked at the food in amazement. Their meal turned out to be a rather delicious-looking lobster, extremely appropriate for their marine date. As it turned out, the food _was_ as good as it appeared, and Atem enjoyed it immensely. He vaguely registered Seto watching him eat his meal, only eating about half of his own dinner. Once dessert (chocolate truffles) had come and gone, tiny lights around the deck that Atem hadn't noticed before began to light up, illuminating the surface in a soft blue glow. Music began to drift out from the speakers over the cabin, and Seto extended his hand across the table to Atem.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, eyes glinting with something Atem couldn't quite decipher.

"Of course," Atem replied, placing his hand into Seto's.

**000000000**

It was nearly three in the morning when the Aston Martin pulled back into the parking lot of West Villa. The silver vehicle slowed to a stop in a parking space as the engine was turned off and the passenger side door opened, then the driver's side door. The couple made their way down the hall until they came to Atem's apartment, where the Egyptian turned the key and opened the door, stepping inside before pausing for a moment.

"Do you want to come in?" he asked, "It's a bit late to be driving."

"I do it all the time," Seto replied.

"Are you sure? I really don't mind."

"I'm sure. You have to work in the morning, right? I'll come see you at lunch."

"All right," Atem agreed. "My break's at twelve-thirty."

"I'll be there. Now go and get some sleep."

"Same for you, Seto."

They shared a brief kiss before Seto pulled away and left, leaving Atem standing in his entrance hallway. He smiled and turned, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. He was hanging up his jacket and putting his shoes away when he noticed that someone else was in the apartment. Feeling a bit of fear, he reached for the light switch and flipped it on, realizing with a jolt of relief that it was only Yugi and not a burglar. However, with that relief came a feeling of dread. Atem knew full well that his little brother had become increasingly suspicious of his new relationship and honestly, he was afraid that he wouldn't take it too well. From what Anzu had said, Jou and Shizuka probably wouldn't take too kindly to it either. Then there was always the matter of what Malik and Ryou had told him- should Seto at any time decide to make their relationship a public matter, the fan girls would probably riot, and that was _not_ something Atem was particularly looking forward to. Atem moved to switch the lights off again before his brother woke up from his makeshift bed on the couch, but he was too late- the brightness had finally gotten to the younger of the two. Blue eyes opened slowly, squinting to avoid the full-force of the sudden bright atmosphere. Yugi sat up, letting his eyes adjust to the lighting as his gaze focused on his older brother. Blue eyes flicked to the digital clock and back again, narrowing a bit.

"Where have you been? Well, that's obvious. What I mean is, _where_… I mean… ugh. I don't know what I mean." Yugi rubbed his temples before letting out a sigh. "It's late. _Really_ late."

"I _know_ what time it is, Yugi," Atem said, dropping his keys onto the kitchen table with a clatter of metal.

"What have you been _doing_ lately? I don't even know what's going on with you anymore. _Anzu_ knows more than I do, and while I think it's wonderful that you two get along so well, what happened to talking to _me_?"

"It's… difficult," Atem started, pushing his bangs back in a nervous motion.

"Nothing's so difficult that you can't tell me."

There was an awkward pause where Atem sat down at the kitchen table and faced his brother over the pass-through. Yugi made as if to stand and enter the kitchen, but his exhaustion took over and he remained on the couch.

"What was _with_ that car anyways? It must have cost a ton of money! What did you do, find yourself a sugar mama? _Please_ tell me you're not whoring yourself out or something."

"No! Where do you _get_ ideas like that, Yugi?" Atem asked in exasperation, a little insulted that his brother thought he would even _consider_ prostitution.

"I'm just making sure. Not many people can afford cars like that, and I know you're the type for a bit of luxury- look at where you _work_, for god's sake- I just wanted to make sure you're not letting yourself be bought by this woman of yours."

"_Man_," Atem corrected, a little hesitantly. "And I'm not letting myself be bought by him. I know how to take care of myself."

Yugi stopped for a moment, staring at Atem as though he was trying to figure out a rather complex math problem.

"Oh. _Oh._ So that's… is that why you didn't tell me when you told Anzu and the guys?"

Atem shrugged, crimson eyes determinedly averted from his brother. "I don't know. I guess."

"Did you think I would hate you, or something?" Yugi asked, walking into the kitchen and dropping into the chair next to Atem's. "I don't. If I had a problem with that, would I still be friends with Ryou and Malik?"

"It's just that, I thought that since I was your brother it would be different. More personal, somehow," Atem managed to say.

"I still love you, nii-san. I would still love you even if you went crazy and killed the president of the United States," Yugi assured, "Now tell me, who is your mystery man?"

"Promise you won't tell Jou, I think he'll go ballistic."

"I won't tell anyone. It's your business."

"It's Seto Kaiba."

Yugi took a moment for this to set in, then his eyes widened in recognition. "Seto Kaiba? _The _Seto Kaiba? The one Jou hates?"

"Yes, and that's why I don't want you to tell him."

"Anzu said that… that he…!"

"Actually, Anzu seems to be quite happy about all of this," Atem said with a small smile.

"When will you tell Jiisan?" Yugi asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"I'll get around to it," Atem said, "I promise. I'm not holding it back or anything."

"You're positive?" Yugi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Positive."

"Good. Now that we've cleared all this up, I'm going to bed. Do you want to meet Anzu and I for lunch tomorrow?"

"Oh, I can't… Seto is coming by the shop," Atem admitted a little embarrassedly, face turning a little pink.

"That's fine. You can see _us_ any old time you feel like it, so don't worry about it. Enjoy your lunch," Yugi said, getting up out of the chair and returning to the couch. "Good night, nii-san."

"Good night," Atem replied, flicking out the lights and entering his bedroom to spend what was left of the night asleep.

**000000000**

"I _hate_ exams," Kisara announced, exasperatedly pushing her books from her lap and onto the floor with a thump.

"_Everyone_ hates exams, Kisara," Mokuba replied, poring over his chemistry textbook to find the answers to his worksheet. "But think of it this way. At least once they're done and over with, all we have to worry about is finals."

"Ew! Don't _remind_ me! One set is _enough_," the white-haired girl complained. "I don't see the point in this anyways. I already took tests on all this stuff, why should I have to take another one?"

"So you don't forget it?"

"Why do I need to remember?"

"Good point," Mokuba said, finding the answer to the last problem on the worksheet and shutting his textbook before setting it aside. "But there's another thing. At least you don't have to worry about the tests over break, since we won't even be here! There'll be no one telling us to study!"

"If it weren't for that, I think I'd go absolutely nuts," Kisara groaned. "This trip is like my knight in shining armor."

"Hey! What about me?"

"Okay, this trip is like my _other_ knight in shining armor," she amended with a grin. "Happy now?"

"Better."

"Oh, stop being difficult and just shut up," Kisara said, tossing her notebook at his head and laughing when it made contact with a soft rustle of paper.

**000000000**

Remind me to never write a chapter in two or more sittings ever again. It ruins my train of thought. I'm too used to writing the whole thing at once.

I wrote this chapter while listening to the song Sleep by Poets of the Fall on repeat, so if there's a weird atmosphere this time, that's why. It's a great song.

Time jump next chapter! For those of you wondering, it'll be late December (Mokuba and Kisara will be on their Christmas break).


	21. Going Crazy

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

AHHHH! I _hate_ research! We finally got a bunch done when we realized 1) we don't know what type of hypothesis to use and 2) we can't find any experiments on thermal expansion except this one that uses this weird electricity thing! I HATE THISSSSSS. UGH.

**Ooh, 12 reviews last time. That was a very welcome surprise. Thanks again for reading! **

**You guys have no idea what a bitchy time I had trying to put this up (it was actually finished on April 11th). document uploader obviously has taken a disliking to me. (Thanks to Bangle Meister for a work-around!)  
**

**000000000 **

_It's Saturday, December 20th today in Domino, Japan, and it is a beautiful day so far. The sun is out and it's no less chilly than could be expected at this time of year, isn't that right, Chinami-chan? _

_Indeed, Kazuma-kun! Do be warned though, there's a forecast of snow showers later this evening. For the close of the eight o' clock hour we have a request for a song from Yuki-chan…._

As the music started pouring out of the radio, crimson eyes opened to find not the usual white walls of Atem's bedroom, but the now-familiar striped wallpaper of Ryou and Malik's apartment that just _happened_ to be as close to West Villa as you could get without actually _being_ in West Villa (the reason for this was that Malik couldn't stand the boring white walls that West Villa forced on its occupants). Atem sat up with a yawn, rubbing the sleep from his eyes when he realized that the song on the radio had become accompanied by his ring tone. Reaching for the phone, he flipped it open and sleepily greeted his caller.

"Hello?"

"Good morning," came Anzu's chipper voice, "I think I'm going crazy."

"You sure don't sound it," Atem replied, "Why? What's going on?"

"One of my tablecloths has a _tear_ in it, my flowers aren't going to be able to make it on time, I have the final fitting for my dress today and no one to take me, and what's worse, the caterer is going to cost more than we expected."

"Okay. How _much_ more is the caterer going to cost?"

"Five hundred dollars."

"I can take care of that for you, no problem," Atem assured her, "I got a raise since I do pretty much every job at the boutique."

"God, you don't have to."

"It'll be my present to you guys. No problem. Now, how bad is your tablecloth?"

"Horrible. Awful. Ruined."

"Talk to Shizuka, she can work wonders. I'll take you to your dress fitting too. About the flowers though, I don't know…."

"They got the damn date messed up," Anzu groaned, "_How_, I don't know. The flowers are going to arrive on January eighth, apparently."

"The wedding is on the twenty-ninth though, isn't it? Honestly, some people can be so stupid at times, Anzu. Anyhow, I know you love those Stargazer lilies, but I'm sure you can find something else in nine days. Why don't you ask Shizuka or Mai to help you pick them up? I heard she got back from her show tour a few days ago."

"Of course, that's the rational thing to do, but- my lilies! I really wanted them," Anzu sighed, doing admirably in the way of preventing an emotional breakdown.

"I know, Anzu, I know. Why don't you go for roses? After all, your tablecloths are embroidered with them. I'm sure you could find some that looked pink."

"You're such a doll," Anzu breathed, "When I see you later, remind me to give you a hug. Oh! And the night before…."

"You can stay with me. I already talked to Yugi about it," Atem replied, though he was still a little surprised that Anzu believed so much in the superstition that if a bride saw the groom before the wedding, they'd have an unhappy marriage.

"Yes. Okay. Thank you. Oh! The dress fitting is at three."

"I'll be there. See you later, Anzu."

"Yes. See you later."

The line clicked and Atem hung up his phone, collapsing back against the couch he'd been sleeping on. This had been happening for days; Anzu would call up and ask him about some problem or another. He felt bad for her; the brunette was usually calm and rational but had lately been ready to jump out of her skin at the smallest impulse. In fact, Anzu's attitude reminded him a little bit about the current disposition of another brunette- one Seto Kaiba. For some reason, he'd been more edgy recently, but Atem didn't mind much. He figured it was about the prospect of seeing Jou at Yugi and Anzu's wedding. In the few months since they'd met, however, they'd been having a good time. They went out on a good many dates and eventually the media caught up with them (Atem remembered very well when this happened, for Seto got so angry with the paparazzi that he started cursing and nearly ran over a journalist with the Vanquish while they were making their escape). After that, the Aston Martin had become associated with them, so Seto reluctantly stopped using it to take Atem out on dates, or to go anywhere, for that matter. Instead, they left the silver vehicle in the garage and started using Seto's black F430 Spyder Ferrari. After _that _car ended up targeted as well, they turned to the white 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet Porsche.

"If Seto keeps running from the journalists, we're going to run out of cars to use," Atem muttered to himself, rummaging through his friends' fridge for breakfast.

Plopping back down on the couch with some leftover pizza, Atem turned the television on to check the day's weather but instead found himself staring at video footage of none other than, well… himself.

"Agh! How did they get that?" Atem nearly yelled, catching himself not a second too soon so as not to wake up his sleeping hosts. "I could have sworn there was no…!"

However, the telltale signs of leaves framing the camera told him all he needed to know. This group of journalists had obviously hidden in the bushes around the restaurant he and Seto had gone to last week. _Somehow, I don't get how everyone doesn't know we're together yet_, he sighed, _with all this media coverage. Jou_ still_ thinks I'm dating some mystery girl. Obviously he doesn't watch the news, or read magazines, or _anything. _Although, I suppose since Kujaku-san came back from her show tour he hasn't had much time for anything else._ Stuffing his face with the slice of pizza, he pressed the speed-dial on his phone that would call Seto and waited for his boyfriend to pick up the line.

"This is early," Seto commented before even saying hello.

"Yes, well, have you _seen_ channel eleven?" Atem groaned. "They were hiding in the _bushes_, of all places! Don't these people have any _dignity_?"

"No. You should know that by now," the brunette said. "I have a simple solution to all of this, however."

"And what is that?"

"We'll simply stay in," Seto announced. "Come over tonight. Let them speculate all they want, I don't give a damn anymore."

"All right. What time?"

"Whenever you want, security knows to let you in."

"That's a new feature," Atem said with a smirk.

"It comes with the all-so-fabulous perk of being recognized by the media," Seto deadpanned.

Atem just laughed.

**000000000 **

"Whoa! This is your house?" Kisara gasped, looking out the car window as it pulled up into the drive of the Kaiba Mansion around six in the evening.

"Yep. Home sweet home," Mokuba grinned.

The mansion really did look impressive; the sun was setting and the house was sitting against the beautiful backdrop the sky was currently providing. The lawn and roof was covered in glowing white snow and the house was breathing smoke from its many lit fireplaces, making the entire place look peaceful and inviting. The car came to a stop and the two teenagers exited the vehicle, making their way up to the door. Mokuba rang the bell, though it really wasn't necessary, and the door opened. However, it wasn't a butler on the other side, nor a maid. It wasn't even okaa-san.

"Who… who are you?" Mokuba asked, startled by the appearance of a tanned young man with hair that was best described as crazily exotic.

"I could ask you the same thing," Atem replied, raising an eyebrow at the two teens on the doorstep. "Asami-chan, who are these people?"

Asami looked around the corner and dropped her duster in shock, running towards the door.

"Mokuba-sama, you've returned!" Asami cried, throwing her arms around the younger Kaiba. "We've all missed you so much!"

"I missed you all too, Asami-chan," Mokuba replied, "This is my friend Kisara, the one I said would be staying with us."

"It's a pleasure to have you with us, Kisara-san," Asami curtsied, "If you need anything, we are only a ring away."

"Mokuba… so… oh! So _you're_ Seto's little brother!" Atem said suddenly. "I thought you were supposed to be in America for a time, though?"

"We're on a secret surprise mission!" Kisara offered, grinning deviously.

"Oh dear," Asami said, "This doesn't include ruining the house, does it?"

"No, no. Don't worry," Mokuba assured. "But _you_ still haven't answered my question."

"I'm Mutou Atem," Atem answered, "Seto's- well, I wonder if he'd want me to tell you without him, hmm."

"Want you to tell who what without me?" came Seto's voice from the hallway that connected with the garage.

The tall brunette stopped dead in his tracks when he saw exactly who was standing there.

"_Mokuba?_" Seto asked, incredulously. "What are you _doing_ here?"

"We came to visit for Christmas!" Mokuba grinned.

"H-hello," Kisara stammered, struck speechless by the appearance of Mokuba's fabled older brother, the famous businessman Seto Kaiba.

"You came home early," Atem commented. "Because we're having dinner?"

Seto nodded, still staring dumbstruck at his two unexpected visitors.

"Wait, dinner? What's going on, nii-sama?"

"He's my boyfriend," Seto said, as calmly as if he were commenting on the weather.

"Your _what_? No way!"

The brunette arched an eyebrow, waiting for his little brother to continue.

"N-not that I think that it's bad liking other guys, or weird, or anything, it's just! You actually got someone to _care_ about you, nii-sama?" He paused again. "Not that it's impossible or anything! Just that, you don't usually care about other people and so they don't really tend to pay much attention to you either- ah, that's not what I meant to say! I mean- oh god, I give up."

Seto suddenly started coughing in a way that sounded suspiciously like he was covering up a bout of laughing. Mokuba gave him a glare and crossed his arms, pouting defiantly.

"Whatever. What I meant to say is, that's great! And it's nice to meet you, Mutou-san. You must be pretty special if you can put up with this guy," he said, motioning towards his older brother.

"I wouldn't put it that way," Atem said, a little embarrassed at the sudden- was it really a compliment?

"Anyways," Seto said, pointing at Kisara, "Who is this, eh?"

"Oh! This is my friend, Kisara," Mokuba said, a little too hastily for Seto's tastes.

"He means girlfriend," Kisara corrected with a smile.

"Ah. Well. It's nice to know my brother isn't completely hopeless in the field of dating."

"Hey! Shouldn't _I_ be the one saying that about _you_? Nii-sama!"

However, the two older men had already started off down the hallway, waving behind them at the two teens still standing in the entryway.

**000000000 **

"You were right," Anzu said to Atem two days later, "Shizuka is a _genius_. That tablecloth is better than new!"

"I'm glad that your problems are getting better. How goes the flower hunt?"

"We're going with pink tulips and white roses, actually. Not as good as the Stargazer lilies, but oh well. It's still a pretty combination."

"That's good. Anything else arise unexpectedly?"

"No, thankfully. Are you still bringing Seto?"

"Um, about that…."

"What? Please don't tell me you're not coming!"

"No, no, we are! It's just that, his little brother and his girlfriend arrived on Saturday, and, well…."

"I _suppose_ we can make room for two more," Anzu sighed, making it sound like a bigger burden than it really was, but the smile on her face gave her away.

"You're amazing, Anzu," Atem grinned, giving the brunette a kiss on the cheek.

"Of course I am! I'm the Amazing Anzu, here to save prospective wedding attendees from the certain doom of being turned away by the bride!"

"Oh, _really_?" Atem asked, unable to suppress a smile.

**000000000 **

This is actually drawing to a close much faster than I expected! Only a few more chapters after this. It's a little sad, really.

I apologize with cheating you all out of watching Seto announce his relationship with Yami to the public- however, no matter what I did, I just couldn't imagine a plausible situation. So, letting the media find out on their own was the best route for that.


	22. Bride Nerves

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

Research is going okay now, although we are not doing very well in the total points area. At least we get to make up some of the things we got wrong in the papers we've turned in so far. It's been awhile since the last update, and I'm not really sure why. I've had plenty of time this week, but I never really found myself just sitting down and writing. I wrote the first half of this last week… I'm not particularly fond of this chapter.

**If you've read this far in, you're absolutely amazing. Thumbs up to you, and thanks again.**

**000000000**

It was two days before the wedding, and Yugi's friends had managed to cram themselves into Jou and Shizuka's small apartment in the mindset of having a bachelor's party of sorts. Shizuka had gone out several hours earlier, probably to keep Anzu company. Since she had gone, the job of grabbing more snacks and such had fallen onto Atem, much to his chagrin. At the moment, Malik and Jou were having a drinking contest- probably not the best idea, given Jou's history- and they were nearly out of wine. Yugi had offered to go to the store and buy another few bottles. Atem had wanted to go with him, but should something happen to the two contestants, he didn't feel it would be right for Ryou to be stuck there by himself with them.

"Well, this is slowly turning into a disaster," Ryou sighed once Yugi had left the apartment. "I didn't expect they'd throw themselves into a drunken pit."

"Neither did I," Atem muttered, watching the pair with an expression somewhere between amusement and disappointment.

There was a sudden outburst from the blondes when they realized that they had finished off the last bottles of wine. Ryou sighed and assured them that yes, Yugi was on his way with more wine. Atem raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, preferring to survey the situation from his position leaning against the couch. A few minutes later Yugi returned from the convenience store down the street with two bags full of drinks.

"Don't drink these too fast," he warned, "I'm not buying anymore. Anyways, if you did, you'd probably die…."

"Way to be cheerful," Atem commented from his spot on the floor.

"Yes, well… they probably would," Yugi shrugged, setting the bags down.

"While they're… preoccupied… what would you like to do?" Ryou asked, sitting on the couch once he had helped the others open their newest drinks.

"I don't know, really… I was kind of hoping to just spend this time quietly, but obviously that's not really about to happen."

"We could always leave them here and go out," Ryou suggested.

"They might hurt themselves if we leave," he sighed, "It's fine, I guess. I don't even really see the point of this in the first place."

"I do. Jou wanted to drink, obviously. Or hire strippers. I'm not sure."

"Strippers?" Yugi asked, incredulously.

"I was _joking_," Atem assured. "Kujaku-san and Anzu-chan would _kill _him! Shizuka-chan would probably help, too."

**000000000**

Having been kept up late by the antics of his friends, Atem was currently taking a nap behind the counter at Louis Vuitton. Therefore, the Egyptian was completely oblivious to the goings-on around him- mainly that his very amused boyfriend and boyfriend's younger brother were waiting rather impatiently for him to wake up. Mokuba grinned mischievously and pulled out a black marker from his pocket, taking the cap off and preparing to draw on Atem's face. When Seto saw the marker, he frowned.

"You're not thinking of drawing on his face, _are_ you, Mokuba?"

"Of course not, nii-sama," Mokuba said sheepishly, moving to return the marker to his pocket.

"Then I'll do it," Seto stated, holding his hand out for the marker with a dead serious expression on his face.

"Wh-what!?" Mokuba nearly yelped, jumping back a step at the notion of Seto scribbling over someone's sleeping face.

"I said, I'll do it. Give me the marker, Mokuba."

"But you…! What happened to you, nii-sama? You're being… silly!"

"Give me the damn marker, Mokuba."

Stunned by his brother's new attitude, the raven-haired teenager handed over the marker, which Seto promptly used to create a badly drawn Blue Eyes White Dragon (Kaiba Corp's company mascot) on his boyfriend's cheek. Mokuba raised an eyebrow at the creature.

"What is _that_ supposed to be?"

"It's a Blue Eyes White Dragon, stupid," Seto said, recapping the marker.

"It sure doesn't _look_ like one."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, nii-sama."

"I wish he'd wake up."

"Then wake him up."

"That would be rude. I thought I taught you better than that."

When Atem finally woke up from his nap he was greeted by the Kaiba brothers, who were staring rather intently at him.

"Good afternoon, _Sleeping Beauty_," Seto said with a sarcastic grin.

"What are you guys doing here?" Atem asked, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

"We are paying customers, obviously. It's rude to sleep on the job," Mokuba put in while trying not to snigger at the Blue Eyes, which was somewhat smudged from Atem rubbing his eyes.

"More specifically, Mokuba does not have a suit for tomorrow," Seto said, "I think he grew about a foot since he left."

"Not _that_ much!" Mokuba protested. "Anyways, Atemu-san, as long as you have something black here it's going to be fine. I'm not picky, like nii-sama."

"Be quiet," the brunette said, glaring half-heartedly at his little brother.

**000000000**

"Let's go out to dinner," Mokuba said as Atem was ringing up his suit for the wedding, "All four of us. Okay?"

"Oh, I can't… Anzu-chan is staying at my place tonight," Atem cut in before Seto could say anything on the subject of dinner.

"Mazaki? Why?" Seto inquired.

"Bridal superstitions," Atem responded simply, handing over a bag with the suit in it as Seto wrote out a check for the correct amount.

"I should've known she'd be the type to believe in that," the brunette muttered, taking the bag. "Do you need a ride tomorrow?"

"No, I'm driving Anzu, actually. And Seto?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't drive the Cabriolet. Pull something new out of your garage, won't you? I really can't imagine Yugi and Anzu being too pleased with reporters storming their wedding."

**000000000**

Anzu was laughing in the passenger's seat; an overnight bag was on the floor at her feet. Crimson eyes narrowed slightly, annoyed at the amusement of his fairer friend. It seemed that after Seto and Mokuba had left the shop, no one had informed Atem of the doodle on his face. As such, it remained on his skin all throughout the day, finally being revealed when he picked up Anzu and she started giggling on the spot. Throughout her laughter, he managed to extract the information that there was a scribble on his cheek. Hearing this, he ran immediately into Anzu and Yugi's bathroom and began scrubbing at the marker, but the best he could do was to smudge the ink into a large gray splotch. Needless to say, he wasn't exactly cheerful about it, especially since he was going to be standing up at a wedding the very next morning. Pausing in her mirth, the brunette spared a glance at her chauffer for the evening.

"It's really not that bad," she managed to say, fighting down more giggles.

"Anzu. I have seen it with my own eyes. It is a big black smudge, and I _swear_, someone is going to have hell to pay for this if it doesn't come off by tomorrow."

"It'll come off. Just use rubbing alcohol, it'll work like a charm. I promise."

Atem eyed his passenger suspiciously, but nodded all the same. It was worth a try, after all. _Anything_ to get this huge mark off of his face and spare him the mortification of being seen at an important public occasion- which ultimately meant many pictures that would be displayed for pretty much forever- like this.

"…You're sure it'll be off by tomorrow? You know that at least Jou will laugh at me if I show up like this."

"I'm positive. Don't be such a worry wart," Anzu said reassuringly as they pulled into the parking lot of West Villa.

Atem switched the gearshift to park and turned off the vehicle, going around to the passenger side door and politely opening it for his guest. She grabbed her overnight bag and exited the car, walking up to the apartment building and waiting at the door for her host. The Egyptian quickly made his way up to the building himself after shutting the door and locking the car, pushing open the door to the complex. He let Anzu pass him as she entered and the pair took the stairs and traversed down the hallway until they reached his apartment. Atem turned his key in the lock and walked into his apartment, slipping off his shoes and coat as Anzu did the same.

"Do you want to take my bed?" he asked her as he took her bag.

"If you don't mind," she replied.

"You'd better. I'd imagine it wouldn't be too pleasant to have pains in your back tomorrow."

"Ah, I'm getting so nervous now! Let's not talk about it for the rest of the night, okay?" she said quickly, making her way into the living room and sitting Indian-style on the couch. "You know, it's been awhile since I've been somewhere other than your kitchen while I'm here."

Atem placed Anzu's bag in his bedroom and tidied the room up a bit, mentally berating himself for not thinking to clean up earlier. When he returned to the living room, Anzu had the remote in her hands and was flipping through television channels, hoping to find the new episode of one of her favorite television dramas. Disheartened when she found that Atem had different cable than she and Yugi had, she leaned back into the cushions of the sofa and sighed.

"Do you have a cable guide?" she asked, scanning the room for the small magazine delivered for free with the newspaper every month.

"Ah, it's around here somewhere," Atem replied, digging through a stack of magazines and newspaper articles. "Here it is."

"Thanks," Anzu said, flipping through the pages until she found the date and time, scanning the channel numbers until she located the name of her television show and happily flipped to the channel on the television.

She was just in time; the show's theme song was playing softly as the opening credits were displayed with pictures of the cast from various scenes. The first scene was about to begin when the channel mercilessly switched to a commercial break. Anzu glared at the television set and Atem laughed at her expression, sitting down in one of the armchairs that occupied his living room. Sapphire eyes turned to him, seeming to say 'what are _you_ laughing at?' when they sparkled in the flickering glow of the television screen. In time, however, the commercial break ended and they watched the drama in silence, except for a few outbursts from Anzu at some particularly stupid choices that the characters had made. The end theme began to play and the preview for the next episode came on, depicting one of the couples getting married. Anzu immediately stiffened.

"Ah, I'd been trying to forget and relax for the night… this just ruined all my efforts," she cried, turning away from the images on the screen.

"Do you want something to put you to sleep, then?" Atem inquired. "It might help you tone down the stress and excitement."

"If you have something, that would be absolutely wonderful," Anzu said, "My heart is absolutely pounding with nervousness right now."

"I don't see why, Anzu," Atem stated, "You have nothing to be worried about. You love Yugi, and Yugi loves you. Things are going to work out great between you two."

"I know. I know that, but I'm still nervous," she said, pushing back her bangs and revealing a slight quiver in her hand. "I guess it's to be expected, though. Bride nerves. That's all."

"Exactly. In the morning you'll get married, and then you'll feel happy and complete. You'll be fine."

"Yeah. I'll be fine," Anzu breathed, then sat in silence for a moment. "…Can I still have those sleeping pills?"

"Oh! Yes, of course," Atem said, getting up from his seat.

Less than a minute later, Anzu was downing the pills and the two close friends were going to bed for the night- Anzu in the bed and Atem on the couch.

"Goodnight, Anzu. You can set the alarm clock to whatever time you wish."

"Goodnight. Thanks for letting me stay."

"It's nothing. See you in the morning."

"See you in the morning."

Anzu disappeared behind Atem's bedroom door and changed before slipping into bed for the night. _Please, let everything be all right tomorrow. Let everything go perfectly, _please

**000000000**

This one was kind of short.

I'm 99 positive that chapter 23 will be the final chapter, folks. Then I'll have the two bonus chapters (those will probably go up at the same time).

But fear not, ED readers! There is a sequel in the works. To keep updated on its progress, you can check my homepage – I'll be making updates on it occasionally.


	23. Yes

**Author's Note**: I do not pretend to know everything about the YUGIOH series. I have only watched parts of the English dub and learned some other details from websites and other fanfictions. Because of my lack of knowledge, this story is AU. It is also a **male/male** pairing: Seto Kaiba/Yami Yugi, who, for all intents and purposes, will be known as Atemu or Atem Mutou in this fic.

Obviously, knowing as little as I do, I **do not own** the series. I also **don't own** Louis Vuitton or whatever other brand names may pop up, or the Aston Martin Vanquish. Although I would _love_ to own an Aston Martin. So don't sue me. I'm poor.

I have been busy, busy, BUSY! So, here you are. I'm a little sad to see it go…. About the sequel: I don't think it's going to happen anymore. I was thinking I'd start in the summer, but I'd really like to work on my novel over that vacation. If I can do both, I'll do both. Speaking of that, I'm not even really sure I know what I want to occur during the sequel if I do it, except for two events, and that might be a problem. See after the chapter for more notes….

**It's finally the end… stay tuned for two bonus chapters. Or something.**

**0000000000**

Morning arrived in Domino, the sun spreading its rays across the city in a warm embrace. During the night an inch or so of snow had fallen, sparkling in the light like diamonds. Beside the sleeping brunette, Atem's alarm clock buzzed for a moment before the radio started playing a soft classical tune; while setting the clock the previous night, Anzu had found that it was possible to set the radio to a certain radio station to wake a person up with. Sapphire eyes opened to the warmth of the sun flooding the bedroom and the music streaming gently out of the speakers. There was a quiet knock on the door as Anzu sat up in bed, stretching.

"Anzu?"

"I'm awake," she replied with a hint of sleepiness still evident in her voice. "You can come in, if you want."

The door opened to reveal Atem in his pre-coffee stage of the morning; his hair was disheveled, pajamas still rumpled from sleep, and a general tiredness in his features. Anzu patted the bed beside her, but Atem shook his head.

"Just asking what you wanted for breakfast," he yawned, "Anything in particular?"

"Um… do you have pancake mix?"

"I think so. Silver dollar or regular?"

"Silver dollar! And blueberries, if you don't mind."

"That sounds good, actually. Give me ten minutes."

Atem padded into the kitchen and rummaged through his cupboards in search of the box of pancake mix he was pretty sure he had. Anzu stretched her arms out above her head and kicked her legs over the side of the bed, standing up and stretching down to her toes as well. Straightening up again, she turned to the pile of clothes she had brought to wear for the morning. Pulling on the comfortable jumpsuit, she ran a brush through her short brown hair and exited the bedroom, sitting at the kitchen table. Atem found the box, grinning triumphantly as he pulled it from the back of none other than his Tupperware cabinet, of all places. He was gathering the other needed ingredients when he noticed that Anzu was sitting at the table.

"Well, I _was_ going to bring the bride her breakfast in bed…."

"Too much trouble. I'm fine with the kitchen," Anzu replied. "Besides, I know how helpless you can be with a frying pan when you're still half asleep."

"Touché," Atem agreed, stifling a yawn as he began mixing all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. "When are you going to change into your dress?"

"Right after we get there," Anzu said, "There's a dressing room in the back. Shizuka-chan is going to help me with my hair and makeup."

Atem poured the pancake mix into a heated frying pan in small amounts to make the silver dollar pancakes. Anzu rummaged in the fridge for some butter and maple syrup, salvaging a half empty bottle from the very back.

"You need to go shopping," Anzu said, shaking her head. "Half of this is leftover fast food!"

"Well, you know. Sometimes I work late and I just grab something on the way home," Atem shrugged, flipping over a pancake with his spatula.

"It's not healthy," Anzu reprimanded, "What do I have to do, bring you dinner every day?"

"Anzu, you're acting like my mother."

"Too bad."

**000000000**

By twelve, the increasingly nervous Anzu was in her dressing room at the church, slipping into her wedding dress and getting ready to have her hair and makeup done. Shizuka stood behind her, doing up the many buttons of the dress before the brunette sat down in the vanity chair.

"I don't know if I can do this," Anzu said, fidgeting nervously.

"You'll be fine, Anzu," Shizuka assured, "You love each other, don't you? Everything is going to be just fine."

"I don't know, I just don't know," Anzu cried, closing her eyes so that she wouldn't see anything related to weddings.

"Anzu. It's. Going. To. Be. Fine. I promise," Shizuka said, giving the brunette a hug from behind. "Now open your eyes. There's nothing to be scared of."

Anzu nodded slowly and opened her eyes again, staring resolutely into the mirror. She watched the younger girl style her hair into long ringlets pinned up with white and pink flowers. When Shizuka was finished with her hair, she moved on to the makeup, complimenting Anzu's features with just a bit of color.

"There we go… see, Anzu? You look so lovely," Shizuka beamed at her friend.

"It does look lovely," Anzu agreed, leaning closer to the mirror as if not believing that it was her reflecting in the glass.

There came a knock on the door and Shizuka opened it to reveal Atem, dressed in the suit Seto had given him on their first date.

"It's almost time to begin," he said before taking a good look at Anzu. "Wow. You look so pretty, Anzu. Yugi won't know what hit him."

"It's all Shizuka," Anzu said, smiling. "She's a genius."

"Nonsense," Shizuka replied with a shake of her head, "Most of it is your own beauty, Anzu. All I did was style and define."

"Regardless," Atem said, "You still look gorgeous. Both of you."

"Thank you," the girls said in chorus.

**000000000**

The wedding itself went by smoothly, with Anzu getting over her nervousness and captivating the guests- and most especially Yugi- with her beauty. Shizuka and Atem performed their respective duties as Maid of Honor and Best Man. Ryou kept Malik under control during the ceremony, and Seto sat quietly in the back with Mokuba and Kisara so Jou wouldn't see them and ruin the wedding. Anzu and Yugi were peacefully married and took their limo to the reception hall; the wedding party was soon to follow in a second limo (secretly paid for by Seto). After that, the rest of the guests took their own cars there.

The reception hall was decked out in flowers and lace; everything that the bride and groom had chosen looked wonderful. All of the guests found their seats and sat down; the largest table was in the center and was to be occupied by Anzu, Yugi, Sugoroku, Shizuka, Jou, Mai, Atem, Seto, Mokuba, and Kisara. Next to the center table was where Ryou and Malik were seated, along with Ishizu who had flown in for the occasion. Anzu and Yugi were there first, of course, taking their seats at the head of the table. Shizuka and Atem were the next to arrive, being part of the wedding party. Third was Sugoroku, who had driven by himself. After this, the Kaiba trio took their seats- Seto was next to Atem, of course, while Mokuba and Kisara sat to the left of the tall brunette. The group was chatting cheerfully when Jou and Mai finally arrived at the hall. Mai took her seat without comment, but Jou froze when he saw just who was sitting at the table.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Jou said with a dangerous tone.

"Jou, you're here!" Shizuka said suddenly, hoping to stop anything from happening.

The blonde glanced briefly at his sister, but said nothing. Instead, he continued to glare at Seto, who merely raised an eyebrow in response. This just made Jou angrier, and he clenched his fists tightly.

"…Anyways. You do look lovely," Seto finished saying to Anzu.

"Thank you," she replied with a polite smile. "Jou, _do_ sit down," she urged as Shizuka gestured to the empty seat between her and Mai.

Jou gave another suspicious glance at Seto before taking his seat between the two women with a huff. Guests who had been staring curiously at the center table turned back to their own tables. The blonde leaned over his sister to speak to Yugi, hoping for an explanation to the presence of his sworn enemy.

"Why is _he_ at this table? Why is he even here at _all_?" Jou hissed at his best friend.

Atem set down his water glass and crossed his arms, looking disapprovingly at Jou.

"Jou," Atem said, "Stop complaining about who I choose to be here with and leave Yugi and Anzu alone."

"What?" Jou nearly choked. "What about your mystery girl?"

"Obviously you don't watch the news," Seto said simply, "For lack of a better term… I believe _I_ would be the 'mystery girl'. As strange as that sounds, anyhow."

"WHAT!?"

"It's true, Jou," everyone at the table chorused. "You're the only one who didn't know."

"Thanks for keeping me in the dark about it," he growled.

"We knew you'd react like this," Yugi shrugged. "I think we all figured you'd find out on your own. After all, it's only been on the news for the past few _months_."

"Yes," Atem replied, "We didn't want to tell you personally because we knew you'd explode. Now stop shouting. You're ruining the reception."

Jou slumped back in his seat and crossed his arms, causing Shizuka and Mai to roll their eyes. Seto rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. As the waiters brought out plates of food, some of the guests began to make toasts to the happy couple. Among these guests were Sugoroku, Atem, and Malik, whose toast was by far the most embarrassing. Jou also made a toast, though it was slightly spoiled by the glares he kept shooting at Seto. Finally, surprising everyone, Seto stood up.

"I honestly thought I'd never come to Mazaki's wedding," the brunette began, "but these past few months have taught me that people can change, and that change is generally for the better. I suppose I can't call you Mazaki anymore, can I?" Seto said thoughtfully. "Congratulations on this big change, Mutou," he nodded before taking his seat again.

Some of the guests looked around at each other a little incredulously at the somewhat strange speech, but Anzu smiled widely.

"That means a lot to me," she said, reaching across the table and laying her hand over his briefly.

"Hn," he replied, hiding his slight embarrassment.

"It means something to me, too," Atem added quietly in his boyfriend's ear.

Jou watched this exchange and his expression softened just a bit. If Anzu could forgive Seto Kaiba, then maybe….

**000000000**

The reception dinner went off without any further problems and a good time was had by all; in some cases, maybe a little too much of a good time. Anzu and Yugi were shown off with a great flourish, leaving the hall in one of the limos. Ryou apologized to his friends as he carted a drunk Malik out the door, promising to visit soon. Little by little, the reception hall emptied. Seto sent Mokuba and Kisara out to wait by the car, leaving him alone in the great room with Atem, who was sitting in a chair and thinking about something, a far-off look plastered on his features.

"Atem."

"Hmm?"

"I didn't want to steal their thunder, but…."

"Yes?" Atem asked, looking up from his seat at the brunette.

"Come live with me," he said simply.

And Atem said yes.

**000000000**

**THE END.**

**000000000**

Lame ending. Sorry.

Listen, guys. It's a good thing this is over, because it's really lost its charm and if I had to write anymore, it would probably be really bad. I will probably still be putting up the bonus chapters (or at least one of them), but I can't say about the sequel. I'm not even sure what I want to put in it (as I said above), and besides I've been really focused on working on my original novel – it's been in the planning stage for about a year and a half and I'm finally writing it (I'm really excited about it)! If I feel the urge to return to writing the sequel, there's no doubt that I'll do it. If there are any changes in my decision, they will be posted on my homepage and most likely in my author profile as well, so just stop in every once in awhile.

I apologize for the obscene length of time that it took to post this, but as I said, it simply lost its charm after me being so busy lately, and I couldn't find the inspiration to finish it up. So, here it is- was- whatever.


	24. Bonus 1: An Epilogue of Sorts

Epilogue 

**000000000**

_Saturday, July 5__th__ (approximately one and a half years after Anzu and Yugi's marriage)_

Morning dawned bright and early on Domino; the sunlight streamed in through the master bedroom of the Kaiba Mansion and doused the two sleeping figures within with light and color. The shorter of the two rolled over to shield his face from the light, and in doing so woke the other. Seto Kaiba looked sleepily down at Atem and blinked a few times before smiling softly. He was about to wake him gently when the bedroom door burst open and Mokuba bounced into the room, Kisara following close behind. Seto stole a glance at the clock- 6: 15 a.m.

"What the hell are you doing up so early?" he asked the two teens.

"It's _summer_, nii-sama!" Mokuba grinned. "We are enjoying every last second to the fullest!"

"You won't be if you keep waking us up this early," Seto groaned, dropping back onto the pillows and waking Atem with the shudder of the bed.

Kisara smiled apologetically as if to say that it was not her idea to do this, and that Mokuba was plotting it all on his own and merely dragging her along for the ride. Atem rubbed his eyes and yawned, surveying the room and the number of people in it.

"Two too many, I think. Seto?"

The brunette nodded and stood up, grabbing both of them by the wrist and dragging them out of the bedroom, then turning and shutting the door behind him, making sure to lock it this time. As he settled back into the bed, Kisara's giggles and Mokuba's teasing could be heard from beyond the door. Seto's face twisted into a frown, but Atem merely laughed.

"Leave them be… it's too early anyhow."

**000000000**

Across town, Shizuka was sitting in the living room of the apartment Atem had abandoned a week after his brother's wedding. After Mai had come back to Domino, Shizuka had decided to move out of her brother's house- not that she didn't like Mai, of course, but rather to give the new couple some more privacy. She was doing fine on her own, and she had friends to visit her even when she didn't want them to.

Speaking of Jou and Mai, the blonde couple was enjoying their own married life- or, rather, _almost_ married life. They hadn't actually had a ceremony, but both wore rings and were known to be exclusively seeing each other. They were happy, and that was all that mattered to them.

Ryou and Malik were still living in their apartment in Domino, although during the winters they disappeared to Egypt to visit Ishizu. They owned a small store where Anzu and Atem were often found helping out; Atem had left his job at the Louis Vuitton boutique after Seto's near-constant lunchtime presence started annoying Kanagawa-san just a little too much. Anzu helped out on the weekends and whenever she had time between errands and dancing; however, it wouldn't be long before she had to take a break from all of these things- it had recently been revealed that she and Yugi were expecting a baby.

Mokuba and Kisara were on summer vacation between their sophomore and junior years of high school, eagerly awaiting the day when they would graduate and could return to Japan for good. They had been officially dating since freshman year; quite a few of their fellow students were jealous of them.

Seto and Atem, of course, were living together; things were going well for them and the press coverage had finally died down to a low murmur. Unbeknownst to Atem, however, Seto had a surprise in store….

In fact, at the moment he was secretly visiting a well-known jewelry store.

**000000000**

In case I ever DO write a sequel, this is where it will pick up. The bonus chapters are coming.


End file.
